Pack Animal
by Wolf Heart 13
Summary: Ben10AF Season 3; sequel to Phoenix Fire. Mutations and Vilgax aside, the gang still find the time to mess around and cause even more havoc than before. Rated T for Themes and Language. Warning: contains fluff. COMPLETE!
1. Prolouge

**AN: She's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! :D and will be for some time ;) although, I have had a minor panic attack in the last few days. The exam timetable for the summer arrived. Now is the time to start cramming like no ones business. Updates will be few and far between until after June, but hopefully if I work on them piece meal, say, twenty minutes a day when I get the chance, over the course of a couple of weeks I should have a decent length chapter for you :) which will make me a happy writer and you guys happy readers :P**

**A number of people have expressed concerns with regards to Kevin's mutation in Season 3. I think some of you want him to stay warm and squishy. I was planning to mutate him anyway, but make him less sarcastic and bitter over it and make Ben less of a prat. I think the actual season 3 would be so much better if Ben wasn't a (insert expletive here) and Kevin wasn't so 'it's the end of the world for me why do I even bother!!!' -_- and most of the episodes seem to follow no real plot other than 'ooooooh lookit we can learn so much more about the omnitrix if Ben wasn't such a gitface!' but if you killed off Ben, the title would be a bit stupid. Anyways, my story is AU so I can do ANYTHING I like :D**

**Enjoy! (this is a prologue thingy…cause I couldn't think of a better title xD)**

_**Prologue**_

It was hard to believe that they had saved the entire universe only a few weeks ago. Ben was talking to Steph via the omnitrix to her badge, watching a cheesy alien horror movie on the TV, tanked up on soda and popcorn, feeling very left out. Steph was on Re'ath with her father, describing everything about her father's home planet, and thoroughly hyper about it.

"_It's so much colder here, that's why our body temperature's so much higher than yours. And the gravity's higher too; everything's so much harder to cope with! That's why Avis are so robust. Still, I'm worn out!_"

Ben started whining. "I'm so bored! And you're rubbing it in!"

"_Sup?_" she asked.

"Cause you're swanning off around another solar system, Julie's gone to a tournament in the next state, and Gwen and Kevin are on a _date_!" he pulled a face at the word.

"_So?_" Steph asked, suddenly bored.

"Well, it used to be just us four! Going for a smoothie, or fish and chips, and we'd sit in his car and talk about stuff, and have fun. Now I'm stuck here on my own!"

"_Well, there's not a lot I can do about that,_" Steph said matter-of-factly.

Ben growled at her.

"_You know,_" she went on conversationally, "_that would be so much more effective if I could see your expression. Then I really _would_ be bale to laugh at you._"

Ben killed the connection and stalked off to raid the fridge.

"Stupid Steph, stupid Gwen, Stupid Kevin…" he didn't have the heart to say stupid Julie, so he settled with sulking in his room instead.

---

Ian raised an eyebrow at Steph as she came back into the living room. "What was that all about?"

"Ben's being a prat," she said, flopping onto the armchair beside her cousin Ashley.

Ian's niece had grown so much; it was hard to believe she was Mel's age. Being back with his parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, and everything in between, had been easier than he had first thought. When he had assured everyone he was not dead, or a ghost, or a zombie, his affairs were put into order fit for a living man, and then he had sent for Steph.

Typical Steph; after five minutes she was right at home. She and Ashley were terrors when they snuck off to do mischief.

Ashley looked much the same as Steph, but her hair was bone white instead of golden blonde. Right now, they were chatting away to each other in broken Re'athen and English (since Steph was trying to learn as much as possible before she was sent home again).

Ian caught the tail end of a plot to go down to the harbour before their Great-Grandma Ava came into the room, and they were suddenly not there.

"Where have those two gone?" she asked in her broad, heavily accented Re'athen.

"No idea," Ian shrugged. He was sure Ashley would keep Steph out of danger from bandits of whatever else may be out there on the outskirts of this town.

He was confident Michelle would be getting their daughter back in one piece.

---

Mel was mixing things together in her favourite pot, while River lay spread-eagled on her bed, singing along to the CD player in the corner.

"I feel obsolete." She said finally, giving into the silence on Mel's part.

Mel laid a cloth over the pot, and sat up straight, legs crossed, to look at River. "What seems to be the problem, my spirit buddy?" she asked.

River sat up too, but leant against the pillows, looking thoughtful. "Just that…I'm not doing anything useful down here. And…" she bit her lip. "I feel bad for just dropping Taylor in it to sort out that estate agent."

"Why did you agree to come down this far south?" Mel asked.

She felt River's anxiety as acutely as she could feel her own emotions; such was that pesky 'bond' that bound them together. She lectured Steph and her friends about guides throughout life, knowing that River liked to keep their spiritual connection quiet. No matter what River's problem, Mel always had the answer.

"Well…you know, Plumber's psychologists get paid more, and we need the money," she looked at the corkboard on the wall for a distraction. "Plus, on of the only jobs they had open for me was down here in Bellwood, where I have good friends and a roof over my head…"

Mel waited patiently.

"And…it just felt right. I looked through the open spaces they had, and the only one's were either off world, or up in the middle of nowhere in Siberia. The other one I considered was Ottawa, but I just felt like I had to come to Bellwood." She frowned, looking back at Mel again, her eyes grey and storm cast like a troubled sea. "I'm trying to figure out why, but nothing's coming to me. I feel so useless…"

Mel went back to stirring the concoction, thinking herself. "It seems to me, that you have a role to play here."

"Like what?" River crawled over to her, and looked into the pot. "I don't think the kids need me. Apart from the paper work, this is basically an extended holiday for me."

"Remember when we were doing our A Levels?"

River laughed. "How could I forget? I was just out of hospital, and Lea thought it was funny to steal my on shoe since I couldn't defend myself and put it in the microwave. And then play air guitar on my crutches before dumping them in the bin so I missed my Art lesson."

Mel smiled, shaking her head. "Yes. But I mean when we were told to fill out those forms? About our future," she added when River gave her a blank look.

"What, the 'where I am, where I'm going' ones that no one cared about?"

"And you wrote down Canada on yours. Even though you had never been there or even thought about it, nor did you know anything about it except the maple trees?"

"I was such an idiot back then…" River slapped her forehead.

"You felt like you had to go." Mel reminded her.

"Yeah," River became thoughtful again.

Mel remembered the certainty in her friend's face when she had made up her mind. "And then when you got to Vancouver Island, you carelessly lost your wallet,"

"And Taylor tripped over me outside the museum." River's eyes narrowed. "I know my own life's story."

Mel raised an eyebrow.

"The past, at least. I don't know," she said heavily, lying down again. "I hate not knowing. If I could just get a hint as to what the hell I'm doing here…"

"It'll come to you," Mel said soothingly.

She knew there was a reason, even if neither of them could see it yet. River was one of those people who knew there was a grander scheme, but didn't try to follow every thread tracing back through their life. Still, she didn't like being in the dark; she liked knowing what direction she was going in. Right now, she didn't even know the _why_ for her being here, other than a gut instinct.

"I'd better get going," River checked her phone. "The farmer that's putting me up for the next couple of months agreed to lower my rent if I help round the house and baby sit. Kid's are coming back from a party in an hour, I need to set up.

"What are you planning to do?"

River grinned. "Painting. With our _hands_! Like the heathens we are,"

---

Kevin felt her fingers pull at his hair, her body against his, that fruit and floral scent of hers in his head, intoxicating him.

He had taken her to a drive in, with a lovely, soppy, romantic ending to a cheesy chick flick movie, and she had pounced on him when the credits started rolling. And, since she was wearing a rather low cut top and shorts, Kevin had been more then happy to reciprocate the favour.

He'd never get over the fact that she was his; Gwen had deigned to grace him with her presence quite a lot recently, since there was a lull in the general alien activity.

Also, because she seemed just as happy as he was to ditch the other's whenever possible. The Spring Break was going to end in three days time, and they were going to make the most of it.

He moved away from her cherry tasting lips to kiss her throat, listening to her breathing hitch and feeling her pulse dance sporadically in her veins. Something started buzzing by his leg, and Gwen pulled away to reach for her pocket. She took out her phone, and checked the caller ID, before rejecting it and switching her cell off.

"Ben," she murmured in answer to his unasked question.

He shrugged, and kissed her again.

Weird. He had never thought he'd be the typical teenage boy from the wrong side of town who would make out with a girl in the backseat of his car. And yet, there they were, in the backseat, in each other's arms. She had put on cherry flavoured lip-gloss before they had left, and a lot of it had been smeared across his own lips by now, but he didn't care.

He groaned when he felt his cell going off, and he answered without even thinking to check the ID.

"What?" he said irritably.

"_Dude, where are you two?_" Ben whined. "_I'm so bored!_"

"Go hug ya mom," Kevin didn't care about Ben right now, not while Gwen was glaring at the phone in his hands, that annoying little line marring her beautiful face. His hand's itched, wanting to smooth that line away along with her worries.

"_Julie's out of state, and Steph-_"

He killed the call, shoved the phone back into his pocket, and kissed Gwen. Ben called again, and Kevin told him to go away; the third time, he was about to start swearing at him, but Gwen took the phone from him. She removed the battery, letting it fall onto the floor of the car, before pulling him down to kiss her again, his phone still in her hand, behind his head.

"If that's broken, I'm not going to be happy," he told him between kisses.

"Oh well," she said flippantly with a shrug.

Kevin bit her lip in response, which made her squeak. "You're adorable when I take you by surprise," he teased.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood…" she growled.

Her badge started screaming at them, and they both jumped a mile high. "What is it?" she said frantically, trying to retrieve it from her bag on the driver's seat.

"_Gwen!_" Ben practically yelled.

"Ben! Badges are fore emergencies _only_!" she scolded.

Kevin's eyes were raised to the heavens. Typical…

"_Uncle Frank's been trying to reach you for ten minutes! He's having a panic attack because he doesn't know where you are, and Kevin wouldn't answer me when I called-!_"

"Crap!" Gwen fumbled for her phone and switched it on.

Kevin climbed back into the drivers seat, dropping her bag onto the passenger seat, dreading her father's wrath. She had taken him home after the universe nearly exploded, and introduced him as her _official_ boyfriend, and Frank Tennyson had taken him to one side while she and her mother went to get drinks. He had said that if anything happened to Gwen while she was with Kevin, he would not rest until Kevin was brought to a violent justice.

When her older brother had come home for the weekend and told him much the same thing, Kevin vowed to not give them an excuse to hang him by his toes over an acid bath, or something equally deadly.

"Daddy?" Gwen asked the phone timidly.

Kevin tried not to listen, instead looking for his missing phone battery. Once he had slotted it back into place, Gwen got back into the passenger seat. "You've got ten minutes," she told him darkly, glaring at her phone.

Ten minutes to be at their front door or his life was forfeit. "I'm sorry," he told her. Gwen glared out the window, and he knew her anger wasn't directed at him. When they reached her house, he kissed her cheek. "Be brave,"

"I'll see you later," she muttered, gathering her bag up.

He caught her lips in a quick kiss before she opened the door, and he felt her smile. She ran up to the front door, and let herself inside before Kevin pulled away from the sidewalk.

---

The next day, Gwen decided to drop in on River to see what she was doing, since Kevin had whined about going to the auto show and she had happily kicked him out the door with Ben for the day. With Julie and Steph not around, she had nothing else to do, so she took a bus out of town, and spent the next half an hour trying to find the dirt track River had described when she had told them where she was staying.

Gwen guessed she was getting closer when she saw a paddock with two horses like River had said. Still, as she followed the path round a bend and the farmhouse came into view, she felt as though someone was about to chase her off the property with a pitchfork. She sighed with relief when she saw the only vehicle in the drive way was a rusty blue truck.

Gwen knocked on the door, and waited for someone to answer. When they didn't, she tried again, before giving up. She was about to go home, when someone called her name.

"Hey!" River was walking around the side of the house. "Sorry, I didn't hear you knocking," she gave Gwen a hug. "I'm over here," she pointed over her shoulder.

River led the way around the house, across the spacious back garden, and into the trees. The building was a tiny bungalow with several huge flowerpots around the door.

"It's tiny, hasn't got a proper kitchen, but it's got character," she said, pushing the door open.

Inside, there was a large room with a kitchen counter with a sink and tiny fridge, a table, a comfy looking sofa, a low coffee table, and a TV all squeezed into the space, making it feel slightly crowded. Everything was a neutral beige colour, except the mat by the sofa and the TV, which were warm reds and browns. It had a nice feel to it.

"Can I get you something? Coffee? Tea? Milk? Juice?"

"Just water,"

"Oki doki,"

A door on the other side of the room was ajar, and Gwen gravitated towards it.

"Take a look around if you like, I've got nothing to hide." She laughed to herself, then said in answer to Gwen's questioning look, "Just remembered something. Inside joke, it'll sound stupid if I tell you…"

Gwen gave into her nosey side and went through the door. Inside, was a reasonably sized bedroom with white walls, a small double bed with blue sheets, a desk covered in papers, a guitar on a stand, and a corkboard. There was another door, which led to a small bathroom with a bath that took up most of the space.

"Wow," Gwen said, coming back into the front room and taking the glass from River. "This is really nice,"

"Yeah," she smiled, sitting down on the sofa. "Its small, but it looks after you. And the family over there invite me in for meals, as long as I help cook, clean, and play with the kids." She gave Gwen the thumbs up. "It's a better use of my time than paper work." She pulled a face.

Gwen laughed. "I bet," she thought of the homework back on her desk in her own room, waiting for her return. She had to stop spending so much time with Kevin…

"So, was there a reason you came over? Or just come for a chat?"

"I was bored. Steph's off world, Julie's in another state, and Ben and Kevin went to the auto show." Gwen moaned.

"I know the feeling," River rolled her eyes, putting her feet up on the table. "Just some days you get left behind…"

"I could've gone with them, but I've been before, and I didn't want to go again…"

"And any excuse to get out of homework." River said knowingly. "I've done that. I used to tidy the house, hover and everything, just to get out of doing some work. It's a miracle I passed my A levels at all…"

They chatted about nothing in particular for bit, put the TV onto the music channel, and laughed at the ridiculous music videos. River was very interesting to talk to, even over skype, and even more so face to face. She must have been unpopular in Religious Studies, because she questioned every concept possible, even the answer she was given. Incredibly open-minded, Gwen wasn't surprised when she asked about River's religion, and she shrugged in response.

"Most major belief systems are founded on the same principles. The Torah, The _Qur'an_, The Bible, take any of them, and you look in the older texts, you can see the roots of each religion stemming from the same source. I don't think any of them are right, or any of them are wrong, in themselves. But the way some people use it as an excuse to over rule people and be generally blah."

"It's caused a lot of wars," Gwen agreed.

"Well," River looked thoughtful. "When you think about it, Christians weren't always so nice and kind and open to new ideas. What's happening with Muslim extremists today is basically, that branch of Islam having their Spanish Inquisition a few hundred years behind Christianity. I'm not saying all Muslim's are like that; I have loads of friends who are Muslim and they accept other people's faith, and they are good, honest, _decent_ people."

"So, what are you?"

"Urm…baptised into the Church of England, used to think that if I was a good little girl Jesus would take me to heaven until I turned ten and realised there was more to life than my Primary teacher's view on religion. Fundamental Catholic, she really _did_ put the fear of God into us. Then I started to doubt the whole thing with what I saw on TV. Now, to all faiths of any shape or form, I'm a dirty, dirty heretic."

"My parents are Christian, I'm not sure what I am…" Gwen admitted.

"That's okay, you can come sit on the fence with me." She laughed.

Gwen smiled. "Are you so open minded about everything?"

"Mostly. Except music. I will _never_ understand rappers and people who listen to them. Then again…I bet they don't understand Taylor Swift fans."

When the day was wearing on, and Gwen realised she had to be home early to make sure her father's didn't have another panic attack on her, she asked River for directions to the bus stop.

"Don't be stupid," she said, standing up. "I'll drive you. I need to see Mel at some point soon, might as well go now.

It was quite a gap up to the truck cab, but River unconcernedly put had hands on Gwen's waist and lifted her up. Gwen squeaked, making River laugh; once she was in the driver's seat and starting the car up, she said, "Don't take that the wrong way. It's just that my right arm isn't very strong, and that was the safest way for me to get you in the cab."

"Are you left handed?" Gwen asked.

"No. I tore a few muscles in my shoulder, when I fell on those rocks, and it's weakened my arm. Can't throw a punch like I used to." She sighed wistfully. "Pity. I so enjoyed martial arts…"

"What do you do?" Gwen asked, intrigued.

"I _did_ Karate. Goju-Ryu, centred around the stance _Zan Shin_. I couldn't train for a bit, cause I was ill, then got hit by a truck," she rolled her eyes, starting the engine. "So I went back to try and get fit again, but not for the actually offensive side."

"I do Tae Kwon Do,"

"Really?" River was just as interested as Gwen was. "What grade?"

"Black."

"Did you fight _everyone_ in the club before you passed?" There was a knowing look in her eyes.

"Yeah," Gwen remembered it well. "I was sore for weeks afterwards, but it was worth it."

"I passed out," River grimaced. "Cause my brothers' all went to the same group as me, and I was the only girl training at the time. And I had my grading in the summer, during a heart wave." She backed down the drive, and started along the twisting road back into town. "Fifteen guys, all of varying grades, plus the Grand Master who's insanely awesome in the ways of the Samurai. Although, to be fair, I probably should have stopped for a drink every round, but I didn't."

Gwen wasn't sure if she should laugh or not, but River laughed herself, shaking her head.

"I don't deserve my Second Dan, but the instructor made me sow it on."

"I'm working for my First Dan," Gwen commented.

"Awesome," River gave her the thumbs up. "I don't know much about Tae Kwon Do, but if you need a sparring partner, I'd be happy to volunteer. It'd be more use than the flipping _guidance councillor…_struth." She looked annoyed about something.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked.

River snapped out of her daze, and looked over at her. "Nothing. I just feel like I'm not doing anything useful round here." She laughed suddenly, and her face unexpectedly brightened. "Well, you need a punch bag, I'd be more than happy to comply as long as you go easy on my right arm." She rubbed said arm unconsciously.

Gwen made a mental note to not bring up the topic of her grading again. Beating up River, when she was physically handicapped in such a way, just didn't seem right…

"Oh yeah," she added, tapping the steering wheel in her hands. "Don't know if Steph told you, but _another_ couple of our friends are coming over as well. Friend's of mine from school, and their younger brother."

"How many people do Steph and Mel know?" Gwen asked.

River laughed. "A fair few. The twins, Miley and Lea, are bunking with Mel. I still don't know what Mikey's going to do…" she looked at the feathered dream catcher hanging on the rear view mirror, lost in thought. "Knowing him, he'd camp in someone's back garden. He's a nice guy, don't get me wrong," she insisted, "but…God, I do not know where he gets the energy from."

"Is he as bad as Ben?" This did not bode well…

"Oh, I'd hate to see the damage those two could wreak together," she sounded bored by the thought. "I'll keep them in line, don't worry. Or I'll try…"

"What's Mikey like?" Gwen was going to loose track of everyone at this rate.

"Here," River fished a black leather wallet from her pocket, and handed it to her.

Gwen opened it, and saw one of those concertina photograph reels, where you slid a picture into the plastic slots. There had to be over twenty, since she had two in each one, and surprisingly, only three of the photos had her in them. The one right at the top had her, Mel, Steph, a boy and a girl that looked surprisingly similar (and Gwen was sure she had seen them in Steph's archive before), a black haired boy, and a dark skinned man, all huddled around a table in a fast food joint like McDonald's of Burger King.

"That skinny guy there, with the dark hair and the pierced lip," River pointed.

"Yeah?"

"That's Mikey. He's insane, such a sweetheart, and I love him to bits. He's my god brother, and those two are his brother and sister."

"Who's that?" she pointed at the other man.

River took a swift look before turning her attention back to the road. All things considered, Gwen wondered how River could look away, even for a moment. Well, she _had_ been cautious with it…

"That's Taylor. He's my boyfriend," she smiled down at the photo. "Completely mad, annoying to a fault, and can't play music to save his life…well, he can play the ocarina, but nothing else." She was silent for a moment, before saying, "So how's you and Kevin?"

Gwen groaned, covering her face with her hands. "My dad's got it out for him…"

"Honey, that's what father's are for." River said simply. "I took Taylor home to meet my family after I sliced my back open. My dad put the fear of God into him. Seriously, he met him at the front door with his gun in his hands and said, 'Date my daughter will you?' And I swear to God, if I could have gotten away with it, I would have _killed_ him,"

Gwen laughed. It was nice to know she wasn't the only one who suffered under their father's reign.

"And brothers," River ranted on. "They are even worse. Especially when you have several of them and no sisters."

"I have just one. He's older than me."

"I share your pain," River lamented. "After Dean and I split, I thought I'd never get involved with anyone again, cause my dad did the classic, 'no one's good enough for my little girl'."

"And you ripped his head off?"

"Of course!" River pretended to look outraged. "I wasn't going to take that lying down! My best ally turned out to be my youngest brother, and we _hate_ each other's guts. He tried to wind my dad up by saying we were 'perfect for each other'. I laughed in his face when my dad welcomed Taylor to the family." She grinned. "Serves the bastard right…"

Gwen liked River; she was so open and honest. And she was just so easy to talk to, which was odd for Gwen, since she only really connected with people her own age. River had to be, what…eleven years older than her? Yet she was as easy going as Steph, but a deeper thinker, and less apathetic.

She needed to be directed to Gwen's house, but it was only a couple of blocks from Steph's, so River found it.

"I'll be seeing you around,"

"Thanks for the lift," Gwen said as she got out.

"Any time," River waved her off before she drove down the road.

Thankfully, no one was in when Gwen opened the door, so she took the opportunity to get some homework done in peace and quiet.

---

Steph adored Ashley.

From the moment she had walked into the small Phoenix Clan capital (which was little more than half the size of Bellwood) and shaken her hand, Steph had known she had found a kindred spirit.

When she wasn't trying to learn a new language, being dragged around the town and shown the culture, or spending some chill out time with her dad, Steph was running amuck with her new best friend.

Kevin would be so pissed off if he found out she had so easily replaced him, but for now, she was content to sit and eat the local cuisine. It was a delicacy here, one that the Clan took pride in.

Steph could have popped down to the local chippy any time she wanted back in Bellwood, but fish and chips, no matter where she was in the universe, was still fish and chips.

Ashley had never set foot off Re'ath, so she pestered Steph with as many questions as Steph did to her. She couldn't believe, _wouldn't_ believe, that fish and chips were so plentiful on Earth.

"Depends where you are," Steph pointed out as they wondered up and down the harbour. "You won't get much in the Amazon Jungle."

"What about where you live?" Ashley insisted.

"England? There's one down every other street! Especially in Portsmouth. In Bellwood, there's a couple worth mentioning, but in America it's all about smoothies."

The infamous smoothie. There was no such blasphemy on Re'ath.

"If you insist." Ashley muttered, bundling up her rubbish and dumping it in the bin. "I want to show you something!" she beckoned, and Steph followed. They left the walkway and went down onto the beach. Ashley ran full tilt towards the sea, and Steph followed her. They both transformed just before they reached the surf, and Ashley lead the way out to sea.

Steph wondered vaguely if they would be in trouble for this, but then she saw they were headed for a stack about a mile and a half out, and knew they weren't going out too far. She was surprised by the variety of plant life when they landed right at the top, and wondered how steady the stack was. Ashley laughed at her expression. "Its safe. This thing isn't going to fall down for years. It's like a roost for teenagers,"

Steph tried to follow her meaning, since they were speaking in both English and Re'athen. She gathered a 'roost' was like a haunt.

"You can see your house from here," she pointed across the bay, and Steph squinted into the late afternoon sun.

Somewhere up the cliff face was the Smith Household. Wow, this felt so surreal.

"So, is this better than Earth?" Ashley said jokingly.

Steph took a long time to reply to that. She sat down and stared at the sky, watching the orange sky turn red in the dusk.

She had seen Re'ath from orbit as they had approached, and marvelled in the colours she had seen; purples, browns, greens, and orange. The atmosphere was different, so the colours of the sky, clouds, even the seas and rivers were all different. Everything was so vibrant, chaotic, and she felt quite comfortable here.

And yet…

She missed Earth. She missed running after Kevin and having a fist fight over the unnamed wrench, throwing smoothies at Ben, going for fish and chips with Gwen, swimming at the lake, DVD nights, her squeaky metal bunk bed, her mother's cooking, Mel's witch craft…everything, in effect.

Steph had never felt homesick in her life, even when they had uprooted and moved to America, she had been with friends she'd known for years, as well as her sprawling family. Now, she was in a completely different part of the galaxy, where the only vaguely familiar person was the father she had known for all of about two months.

"Well?" Ashley said impatiently.

"I'll be honest with you," Steph sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. "I love it here. I really do. Everything's so new and different, and I'm having so much fun! But…" she wasn't sure how to tell her cousin she wanted to go home.

"You miss Earth?"

"Well, yeah. It's the only thing I've known my whole life. My mum's there, and my brothers and sisters. And my friends…" she remembered the looks on Ben and Kevin's faces when she had got onto the space ship. The heart break, the look of betrayal, which she had laughed at before the doors closed. Now they were all having a good time while she was mopping around on this stack miles out at sea.

Ashley put a hand on her shoulder. "I know how you feel. My mother got transferred to another planet in the next quadrant, and I had to go with her. I missed Re'ath so much."

"I _am_ having fun," Steph persisted. "It's just that, I miss my mechanic buddy…and my morphing buddy." She thought of Ben and the others, kicking alien ass without her.

"You're going home soon, anyway." Ashley pointed out. "And you can come and go anytime you want. There's always space on my bedroom floor for your sleeping bag," she grinned.

Steph grinned back. "You're awesome, have I told you that?"

"Come on, Uncle Ian had a surprise for you,"

"Oooh, I wander what that could be?"

Even though she had done it several times before, Steph never got over the fact that people round here, even her own cousin, would push her off high buildings like she did now. Steph could handle falling off the roof at home, she would heal up quite quickly, but here where the gravity was much higher and she was at the top of a stack with sharp pointy rocks at the bottom, she had reason to be afraid.

Very afraid.

Praise be to the Lord that she was quick at transforming. Ashley jumped after her, and they flew back home. Steph felt a thrill of satisfaction when she scared the living daylights out of another cousin of hers as she landed. Barnaby was eighteen, brunette, and used to be the youngest member of the family in this small town. Until Steph showed her ugly mug, of course.

The youngest in each branch of every family was the one that got spoiled by the elders, and since Steph was still sweet sixteen, she had taken up that role. Barnaby hated her for taking all the attention, and seemed to be the only one who hadn't been thrilled when Ian had come home alive.

He glowered at her now, before stalking off as Ashley landed beside Steph. "You said there was a surprise?" She asked.

Ashley phased back into her tall, gangly self and walked forward. "Follow me."

Steph was, in actual fact, on the short side for an Avis, as she had discovered during her stay here. Barnaby was also half human, but his mother had died of some strange, unnamed disease, so he had been doted on by their grandparents all the more. He resented Steph taking that away from him

She couldn't care less, which was the funny part. Nothing he said or did bothered her. Didn't he know she had three brothers and hung out with guys all the time at home? Insults bounced off her like paper aeroplanes.

Steph pestered Ashley for an answer, but she kept her lips sealed until they were in the huge living room where the rest of the coven were. About half of the people in here were Steph's first, second, and third cousins on her father's side. The other half were various cousins of cousins, friends, fiancés, and partners of said relatives. There were too many to know every single name, so Steph just waved at them and said, "Hi guys,"

Ashley pushed her into the ceremonial beanbag, the one she had been told was used only for special occasions, and Steph began to panic. Were they about to give her ritual scars or something like in that horror movie she had watched with the guys before she had left Earth.

Ashley found her expression hilarious. "We're not going to gut you like a fish! This should have been done when you were fifteen,"

Crap! What would that be? Everything Steph had ever heard about mutilation of various sensitive parts of the human body came flooding to mind. Sure, River was all Little-Miss-Balanced-Argument and said that just because in Western culture it was unacceptable, didn't mean that in another it was as well. Steph had never cared, because it didn't affect her. Now, she did care. A lot.

"What are you going to do?"

"Your hair, you muppet!" said Terry, her favourite male cousin who was part Phoenix, part Polar, with a bit of Aero and Lapis thrown in as well, so his white hair was tinged with red, with white within the red, and shocks of silver and brown. "You must have noticed all the gals over sixteen round here have their hair like this?" he tugged on a few locks of Ashley's hair, which was braided with red and gold beads, and a couple of feathers.

Steph stared at them all blankly. "Huh?"

Ashley sighed dramatically, taking up a comb and a leather pouch and sitting down behind her. "You're not allowed to peek until we're finished."

"We?" Steph panicked. They were making a spectacle of this! Everyone was watching her.

"Me and Great Grandma Ava. Your father decided that we should do it."

"So…it's just a make over?" Steph verified.

"Yup," Terry grinned at her.

"I hate you all," she muttered darkly. "Ouch!" Ashley pulled her hair, very hard. "Bitch! That hurt!"

"What's that mean?" Terry said blankly as Ashley began to drag a brush through Steph's hair.

"An insult. A bitch is the word for a female dog on Earth, and it can be applied to a person as an offence."

"Oh, like _Vitcha_?" he asked.

"What's that?"

"Derogatory term for a Lupus." Ashley said.

"Bloody dogs…" Terry muttered.

Steph turned round and punched him in the gut. "Shut up! I have Lupus friends back on Earth!"

"Well, they are," he snapped back. "They always fight amongst themselves on Re'ath."

"And do you know any personally?" she demanded.

"Well, no…"

"So shut up!" she snapped. She loved the Simcox family to bits, and they were part and whole Lupus. Actually, they would be in Bellwood just before she got home. She imagined Mikey would be for filling her role of 'group annoyance' until she came back. Then she would boot him out.

Until then, she had to suffer the agony of having her hair done.

"You'll look so pretty when it's done," one of the more girly girls next the Terry cooed.

Steph and Ashley burst out laughing.

---

**Ta Da! That was a bit long for a prologue but yeah… :P**

**I may or may not do Vilgax's attack thing in the next chapter…I duno, should I introduce Mikey before or after? Either way, I'm off to hit the books so I don't fail this summer -_-;; I like living, and my parents might just kill me…**

**Reviews plz you guys know the drill ;) and I'll be seeing you on the next update! (whenever that may be….)**

**xxx**


	2. River

**AN: howdy folks! :P I managed to cobble this up out of random ideas floating around my head at school. Also, the doodles and stuff River does here, are actually doodles in my homework diary xD I have this tendency to gaze out the window and draw at random. And if no one had guessed it yet, I heart Canada :) so River hearts Canada as well. I spent a summer in BC and I heart it so much, it crops up in everything I write about xD that and it's the most awesome place I've been. This includes Disney land ;)**

**On another note before I waffle any more, I can haz reviews plz??? I didn't get much feedback from the first chapter so I don't know if it was of a good standard :S**

**Either way, I won't be updating until the weekend at the earliest, cause I have another mountain of essays to write on various book and amoeba and random psychotic murderers in general. Absolutely riveting stuff. (snoresville!)**

**DISCLAIMER: (I forgot to put this in the first chapter) I do not own Ben 10 but any OCs loafing around are my intellectual property because the voices in my head said so :P there are many other things I do not own, but I can't remember them all so meh… ;)**

_**River**_

It was such a nice day that River was outside, soaking up as much sun as she could. The moment she stepped foot back onto her island, it was going to rain like no ones business. Everything about British Columbia, especially the coastal regions, and Vancouver Island, she loved more than anywhere else on Earth, even more than England. Still, she could live without the torrential rain.

Or maybe that's why she cherished those sunny days all the more.

Mel was sitting beside her on a bench at a place called Mr Smoothies. She was trying to wheedle River into trying a drink, but she was content with her drinks canister. "I have my own," she reminded Mel.

Ever since college, it had been her habit to take a homemade smoothie in a canister with her everywhere she went. She was also used to eating on the go, since her lectures all seemed to be at opposite ends of campus and up several flights of stairs when the elevators were broken. Old habits, died hard.

Mel was almost as stubborn as her when it came down to it, but she normally got her way with that understated presence of authority that not many people could locate. River just did, which was funny to watch on other people until it was unleashed on her.

It was quite peaceful for a school holiday; there were three kids ordering drinks, the parking lot was deserted except for her blue truck, and they were the only ones on the benches. Mel was reading a book in Hindi, and River was supposed to be looking into a case study about a boy from some backwater system on the other side of the galaxy that had been abused as a child and gone on to be a rampaging murderer. She wasn't entirely sure why she had to look into this study in particular, and doubted it would ever come up again in her life, but she had to have a dissertation to prove she had read it thoroughly.

"It's like being back at school," she complained.

Mel's lips curled up at the corners in response.

River dumped her folder on the ground and sat on top of the table, taking a pencil and her planner from her rucksack, and started to doodle. The more she looked back on it, the more she realised there had been little pointers in her life leading up to now. The Pocahontas tooth mug she had had since the age of two, which her youngest brother had trodden on; the Native American style costume she had worn to her friend's fancy dress parties in year eleven when they did their GCSEs; and the art topic she had chosen when given the title _Cultures_. And then the snap decision to take a gap year in Canada. And now she was doodling a Coast Salish wolf onto the back pages of the planner.

Such was life.

And she missed Taylor. A lot.

She missed the T'souke Rez; kayaking down to Victoria harbour and back in a day just because they could; going to the potholes for a swim; fishing for salmon on Brain's boat, paddling ashore, gutting and filleting them before cooking them then and there, in the same way Taylor's ancestors used to. Corny as it may sound, River liked doing things the traditional way like that; everything was so much more fun, and they were keeping the culture alive for a few more generations.

She wished there were salmon down here to catch. The people she had met so far were nice enough, but Bellwood sucked compared to Vancouver Island. Just like the rest of the globe.

"We're negative today." Mel said calmly.

"Wanna go BC _now_," River whined. "Nothing smells right, we're too far away from the sea and there aren't any cedar trees!"

Sea salt, surf, seaweed, and cedar bark.

That, and Bert's Fish & Chip shop down in Victoria Harbour, by the boat shop that sold fresh fish to tourists to feed to the harbour seal that lurked in the water there.

Now _that_ smelled like home.

This smelt…weird. Not pleasant or unpleasant, just…weird.

Still, something was tugging at her, nagging her to stay put instead of drive off home. She still felt useless, but she hung around anyway; it felt like the right thing to do.

"Let me have a look," Mel took the planner from her hands, and River stared off into the distance, eyes fixed on a spot next to her truck.

She saw a flash of green with two black stripes in her minds eye, and then a Camaro pulled up next to the truck.

Green. Two black stripes running across it.

River was beyond the point of being creeped out by how she did that.

She recognised Gwen by her long red hair, which was tied up today. She was wearing a dark red shirt and a black vest, with grey work trousers, and had a bag slung over her shoulder. Kevin got out of the drivers seat, in jeans, plain t-shirt and an open button up shirt over the top, eyeing the truck speculatively.

River smiled to herself; everyone wondered what it was that made her so protective of that old truck. It was the first car she had bought after her accident, when her own midnight blue Camaro had been reduced to scrap metal. That truck was also her first Canadian car, and she'd be damned if it wasn't the last.

"Hey!" Gwen called cheerfully.

River waved back. "Come to join the cool club?"

Mel pushed the smoothies towards them as they walked to the table. "We knew you were coming," she said, winding them up.

River rolled her eyes. "You mean _you _did." She could pull that ethereal crap with other people, but River saw right through her. "Pull up a seat," she sat back down on the bench properly, and took her planner back, flicking through the pages.

So far, she had done two beavers, five salmon (Sockeye, Coho, Chum, Spring, and Pink), a bear, three wolves, two humming birds, a cougar, and a beaver.

Oh. How could she forget good old Caribou? There was a funny story Taylor had told her about Caribou, one he had learned from his great grand mother before she had died. How did that go again…?

She frowned as she struggled to remember, not noticing the others watching her until Gwen nudged her gently under the table, saying, "Are you alright?"

"Annoyed." She stared at last week's Thursday slot and imagined the 'a' being an eye. "I was trying to remember something. Oh well," she closed the planner and pushed it to one side. "So! How's life?"

She took a moment to discreetly look Kevin over. She had seen less of him than the others so far, and given what Steph and Gwen had said, and reports she had read, River was raging with curiosity. Of course, she wouldn't ask; that was rude, among other things. But she felt a sort of draw to him all the same.

It wasn't the same draw she had felt when she had met Taylor, all those years ago in Victoria. Back then she had known the moment he had held his hand out to her that he was the person she had been looking for.

This was different. Almost like when she had formally met Mel when she came back to redo year twelve for the second time at the age of nineteen. It hadn't been so much a draw, as much as an urge, to seek close proximity. She'd always felt safe with Mel, even when they went as a group to Kenya and climbed Mt Kilimanjaro. Low on oxygen, ready to keel over and fall asleep in the freezing conditions, terrified of putting a foot wrong; Mel had taken her hand and hauled her the rest of the way to the summit. Mel, despite the way she creeped people out by being vague and mystical, was like a mother hen; River could hide under her wings until she felt more confident to strike out on her own.

This draw towards the boy sitting opposite was…like and not like this at the same time. She pretended to doodle while Gwen and Mel chatted about stuff River didn't understand, glancing up at them all every so often.

She had perfected the art of discreet observation; observing problem-stroke-criminal teenagers needed a lot of time and patience.

Kevin held himself stubbornly, like he was in defiance of the world. He had a strong jaw, which was a biological sign of high levels of testosterone, and often a more aggressive temperament. (GCSE and A Level biology had served River well over the last five years.) His eyes were hard to see, since his hair kept shading them from the light, but they looked flat black from where River was sitting. She was certain there was another pigment in there somewhere; it just didn't show in the lack of light.

Another thing River noticed was the way he kept close to Gwen, and watched other people walk by; especially other guys who eyed her up, and looked as though he were about to spring at them but was holding himself back.

Classic protective boyfriend syndrome.

And then there was the way that, when he wasn't talking or scouting the area for targets, he watched Gwen instead. Every movement that she made, whether a gesturing hand, or to push a few stray strands of hair out of her eyes, his gaze followed.

River felt the little voice in her head say 'Awww!'

She was quite good at reading people without having to sit down and go through the ritual of looking into their eyes. Psychology only took you so far, but she had taught herself to read people externally, and every sign pointed to Kevin being hopelessly in love.

It would be highly in appropriate to laugh at the look on his face, so River went back to her third hummingbird of the month. And then it became two hummingbirds within a circle, and she started reaching for her thin black outliner pen.

"What is that?" Kevin asked suddenly.

"Huh? This?" she held up the planner. "A doodle." She shrugged. "Have a look," she handed it over.

Kevin flicked through the pages, Gwen looking over his shoulder. "You like Native American art, don't you?" he stated.

"Canadian, actually," she corrected, laughing. "I have a lot of friends on the Reservations on Vancouver Island. And I get to meet a lot of artists."

"Cool," he handed it back to her, face smoothly deadpan, eyes sparking with curiosity.

"You draw?" River asked, taking her pens out and choosing her colours carefully.

"A bit. I do art at school."

"I did it for A Level. It was loads of fun," River rambled on, taking black and silver, and red and blue from her pencil case. She stopped, holding the pen up so she could compare it to Gwen's shirt, then laughed. "That's exactly the same red,"

Gwen held out her arm so they could line them up.

"Weird," Gwen laughed as well.

"Meh," River shrugged. "Weird stuff happens when I'm around." She looked up at Mel. "And Melanie too, she just doesn't admit to it."

Mel raised an eyebrow at her.

River smiled sweetly and started filling in the blocks of colour. "And that shirt's very nice Gwen." She commented. "That colour suits you,"

"Thanks," she blushed. "I bought it the other day."

They had a random conversation about clothes, and Kevin zoned out. Not that River blamed the poor soul; Taylor did the same thing to her. She and Judy had sat on the decking of their house in West Sooke chatting about some dress or skirt River had bought, and Taylor started watching the hummingbirds fight over the feeders of sugared water by the sliding glass doors.

Mel shifted; looked up at her, then back down at her book.

River raised an eyebrow, and then her phone started howling loudly. Gwen jumped a foot in the air, and River scrambled for her phone. "Sorry, sorry!" she apologised. "I set my text alert to a wolf howl so I know it's my phone. Random, crazy, yeah, but it works."

"Weirdo," Kevin muttered.

"Thanks," River agreed. "I've been working on it for years," it was her standard reply to such comments, and she was satisfied to see him reeling. Yes, she was strange, and the only people who mattered in her life loved her for it, so who in the grand scheme of things cared?

Taylor had sent her a photo of him and his brothers and sister on Brian's boat, holding up a huge sockeye salmon, with the words, '_omfg! lookit, 20lbs you reckon? :P_'

"I refuse to believe that," she told the picture.

"What is it?" Mel asked.

River showed her. "Friggin' twenty pounds of sockeye meat! He wishes," he had a way of exaggerating things.

"You have to admit, that _is_ quite a big fish,"

"No duh," River took her phone back.

Kevin was leaning forward again to take a look, so she handed the phone to him. "That's…quite a big fish," he commented.

"Taylor's a lying toe rag," River said, taking the phone back. She texted, '_in your dreams babycakes xxx_'

"Imagine cooking that one," Mel commented.

River could only imagine gutting and filleting it, so she sent Brain a text saying '_have fun ;)_'

Taylor kept on pestering her with more text messages, so more wolf howls filled the air. "Maybe I should have stuck with shock horror," she said to Mel.

"It's very you," she said simply.

River gave her friend the best sarcastic look she could manage.

"What, howling?" Kevin asked.

Before River could speak Mel said, "Her totem spirit is the wolf."

"For God's sake…" she muttered.

"Aren't wolves, like, really evil or something?" he asked.

Gwen elbowed him in the ribs, to which he protested.

"Clueless, European view." River shook her head condescendingly. "Wolves are good for the environment. They eat the sick and dying, weak and lame, killing off the weaker genes to make their prey stronger. Ever heard of Darwin's Theory of Evolution?" She tried and failed to remain patient with people who tore strips out of other cultures before actually getting to know them. But, to be fair to Kevin, he hadn't exactly had the opportunity to learn about other nations… "And they are revered among certain cultures."

Kevin stared at her blankly before saying, "Totem spirit?"

Mel chipped in again before River had a chance to get exasperated. "Some people have an animal they feel a strong connection to, for whatever reason." She looked at her friend. "River is very much at home with the native peoples of the Pacific North West, and according to their folklore, her animal counterpart is the wolf."

"That's really interesting," Gwen pitched in. "What qualities do they have?"

River loved it when someone was interested in her culture. "You know Twilight?"

Kevin slapped his forehead and groaned.

"Sorry honey. Anyways," she fought back a laugh.

"Yeah?" Gwen smirked at him.

"The Quileute pack? The Protectors, the call themselves. The wolf is a pack animal, they work best as a team; they would die on their own otherwise. So, they are a symbol of protection, working in unity, loyalty, and sometimes power. I have a bad habit of biting people's heads off when I'm defending a friend. I've got into a lot of trouble before…" she had talked back to the uptight maths teacher when he had stuck his nose into her friend's business because she was sobbing her heart out. Right before the GCSEs started, her brother had died in a train crash, and River had lashed out at the teacher because he was making her even more upset. She had lost a whole week of summer for that, and nearly been banned from the prom.

"That's no a bad thing though, is it? Standing up for people?" Gwen asked.

"Well, I was threatened to be prohibited from attending prom when I talked back to a teacher, but my form tutor spoke up for me."

Kevin didn't believe her. "And why would you talk back to a teacher?"

"A friend of mine was having a rough time, and she was crying so I took her to small cloak room opposite the school library to help her calm down. And some idiot who teaches the lower math set stuck his huge ass nose in her business, and I ripped his head off. I didn't even stop to think about it, I just took him to task. Next thing I know, I'm warned that if I do it again, no prom that summer." She shrugged.

"You have a habit of getting on the wrong side of idiots." Mel commented.

"Hmm," she thought about the idiots she went to school with. She'd ripped a few heads off in her time. "I like being in a group, but I don't like being in control of everything. I'll follow if I think its right. But I have a nasty habit of figuratively killing people when they cross my friends."

"And you never stand up for yourself when someone is heavily criticising you," Mel added.

"Well," River turned to meet her sapphire gaze. "The thing about Joanne, is that she's a bitch. And, be fair, that _was_ like, ten years ago when we were in the same form."

"And when she spiked your drink at Claire's party?" Mel reminded her.

"Oh, come off it!" River felt herself getting wound up about it. "That was because Emily sat with me while I was being sick, then went down stairs to have a go at Joanne, and then I heard her slagging Emily off, and I went berserk."

"River here only gets lashes out on behalf of other people." Mel told the younger two.

"Jo's a bitch. You have to admit," River would be glad to never see her long blonde haired, fair skinned, smirking blue-eyed face again. "But we'll never see her again."

"She asked me on Facebook if she could stay a few nights while on her trip around America."

"Wow." There was a shocker. "She's _actually_ getting off her lazy butt and doing something constructive with her time _besides_ bitching and taking the piss out of everyone?"

"Yup." Mel sipped her smoothie. "I told her that Miley, Lea and Mikey would be here and that there was no room."

"And she said?"

"'I could sleep in the garden in my brother's tent.'"

"I'll believe it when I see it. Which I won't, because she can never be arsed to do anything but moan about who crap her life is and how she'll never amount to anything so why bother?" Since they had last seen each other, River had had her car accident. She didn't know if Joanne knew about it or not, but if she had the gall to give her grief over 'being unthoughtful to people who had it worse off' she might just punch her, like she used to think about when she practised her punches.

"She sounds like someone I know," Gwen said, eyes narrowed at someone in the smoothie queue. River guessed Lady Bitchington, the bane of Gwen's school life, whatever the silly girl's name happened to be, was standing in line.

"One in every school." she sighed.

"Try every class," Kevin pitched in.

"That too," River agreed.

She felt Mel's eyes bore into her, and she ignored it. Instead, she gave her attention to the two hummingbirds.

"I don't know," she said finally, lifting the book up into the light. "Do those colours go?" tip-ex wouldn't help, she'd have to start over if…

Mel took a look. "Maybe a lighter blue?"

River frowned at the picture. "Hmm…"

Kevin reached out for her pencil case and took up another blue pen. He wordlessly took the planner from her hands, and swiped the pen across the page to see how the colour looked on paper. He then compared the two blues, before deciding.

"I think that one," he gave her the one he had tested.

River coloured over her previous blue, and saw it didn't clash with the black or red. "Whey," she grinned. "Cheers, mate! That looks way better," Her phone started singing to her, and she pulled it out of her pocket, wondering who was calling. Taylor's name flashed up on the screen, and she turned to the others. "S'cuse, I have to take this call," she got up and wandered over to the truck. "Hey Taylor," she said after pressing the receive button.

"_Hey! How's it going way down South?_"

"I'm bored. They don't have any kayaking or canoeing or wale watching or wood carvers or anything!" she whined.

Taylor laughed. "_I have some news. Good or bad first?_"

"Bad first, so we can finish on a positive note."

"_Okay, you know that lodge in West Sooke?_"

"Yeah?"

"_We've been out bid._"

"Damnit." She said flatly. "Aww, shame. That was on Judy and Brian's street, too."

"_Yeah. Out bid by a couple thousand dollars in cash._" He was just as hacked off as she was.

"Isn't that illegal?"

"_Probably. Since when do estate agents care?_"

She rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. "Just cause one screws us over, doesn't mean that-"

"_Okay, okay! I didn't mean to get a lecture,_"

"So what's the good news?"

"_Abigail had her baby,_"

This was good news indeed! "Aww! When? How much did it way? Boy or girl? Any names?" Abbie was Taylor's cousin, a woman that River loved to bits. She had taught her how to make traditional Cowichan clothes from the raw wool, and even made a cedar bark dress with her. Abbie was such a wonderful person; she always had the time for River, even when she had first arrived as a tourist, and later returned as a college student.

"_Born five minutes past midnight, seven lbs exactly, a happy bouncing baby boy, and they named him Rae._"

"Aw, pass on my congrats! And give Abba a hug from me!"

"_Will do. Also, there was this guy,_"

"There are many guys in the universe, Taylor." She said in a bored voice.

"_Yeah but Riv, he lives in this house just on the outskirts of the Reservation,_"

"What, T'souke?"

"_Yeah! I haven't seen it yet, but Brain told me to go talk to him cause he's thinking of selling and moving up island to Courtney._"

"Who'd want to leave the south?" River had lived in the central south of England her whole life, and then moved to the south of Vancouver Island. She couldn't fathom why anyone would want to go north after having lived in the south. That could probably just be her though…she had to be on the south coast of any island she stayed on for more than a month. Being away from the sea drove her even more insane than normal.

"_He's got friend's or relatives up there or something, but it's not definite right now. Anyway, we'd need to amass some money first…_"

"Yeah. I have to stay here at least two months on trial period before I get sent up to Ottawa to fill these forms in. Then I get the full pay and can do what ever I want," she wished…

"_And!_" he paused for dramatic effect. "_Oh, hang on, I have to the slip first,_"

"I'm hanging, I'm hanging!" she gripped the sides of the hood.

"_Aha! I might be getting a commission,_"

"For…?" River hated it when he dragged things out.

"_You know those eagles all over Victoria?_"

"The brightly coloured ones? Yeah,"

"_Well, they want to do something like that for the museum._"

"Go on," this seemed to be going in a positive direction.

"_And they wanted someone from the Rez to do it, and they asked me,_"

"That's brilliant!"

"_Only,_"

Oh. There would be a downer, wouldn't there?

"_I can tell by that silence you're not a happy bunny._"

"The suspense is killing me. I need to know if I should get a second job,"

"_Don't be stupid._" He told her. "_It's just that, they need to sort out where to put them if they get made, and they don't want to, quote, _'waste my time'_ with something they may or may not pay me for. They have to make their minds up first._"

"Mmm," River frowned. "Still, if they do, that would be great."

"_But I need to plan them out anyway. So! What should I do?_"

"I don't know, go crazy! Actually, on second thought, don't. We'll drown in wood shavings. You might kill all the trees on the island."

Taylor laughed. "_Probably. So, what animals? Motifs? Colours?_"

River considered for a moment. "How about…like a set? You know, a couple of trees and stuff thrown in to make a scene. Salmon migration? Then you could show the different stages of their life cycle." That would look awesome in the Natural History Section of the museum.

"_Awesome, hang on, I'll write this down…there, okay. How's about a nice bear?_"

"And a wolf," River laughed.

"_You left your bracelet here, by the way._"

"I know!" River felt like crying whenever she thought about it. She felt naked without her charm bracelet, as though she was missing some important part of her physical makeup. "Left it on your desk when we went canoeing with Jay, but when I came back, I couldn't find it anywhere! I felt awful, but you were on the mainland and I had to get going or I'd miss my ferry."

"_Well, I found it again._"

"Oh, where was it?" She couldn't see how it could get up and walk off by itself.

"_In my parents room._" His voice was void of any emotion.

"What? How the hell did it get there?" Maybe it _had_ grown legs and walked off, it was covered in delicately carved animals, most of which had four legs. Stranger things have happened. Like her youngest brother, for instance.

"_Well, my cousin was staying for the night, and he's got a new girlfriend._"

"Riiight," this sounded ominous…

"_She's tall, blonde, green eyed, was on the cheerleading squad for the local baseball team…_"

"One of your ex's?" she asked, bored. Before her, Taylor had had a string of girlfriends, all of which were blonde and of European decent. Their relationship had been the longest he'd ever had, and she was proud to have stuck round this long, since his father treated her with courtesy befitting a snobby tourist, and a helping of suspicion.

"_Yeah, but guess which one?_"

"I don't know, Taylor. Just tell me."

"_Stacey_,"

River swore to herself. "She's got the tenacity to come back to the Rez after that tantrum she threw at your grandfather?"

"_Yup. Jay must have told her about the bracelet I gave you, cause my Uncle Ben caught her sneaking around my parents house._"

River found herself laughing at the sheer stupidity of that girl. "I cannot believe that. I simply cannot believe her." Stacey blamed her for her break up with Taylor, even though technically _she_ dumped _him_ and he hadn't cared; he'd chased River to Halifax on the other side of the friggin' continent to ask her to be his girlfriend. Stacey hated how happy he was now.

"_Well, I've got it for you. I was thinking about coming down to see you…?_" he left his statement hanging in the air like a question mark.

"I'd like that," she admitted. "If you're not busy working, that is." If he had a job going, she'd hate to take him away from his work.

"_It's not the same up here without you,_" he teased. "_The whole Rez went into mourning_,"

"You'll live." She waved it away. "I'm sure there's a good reason for me being here."

"_Mel got you down with that mystic crap?_"

"I feel like there's a reason. I just don't know what. I'm sure it'll come to me sooner or later." She could tell he was rolling his eyes. "Don't roll those eyes at me,"

"_Okay, have I ever told you how creepy it is when you do that?_"

"I'd better go. I left a couple of the kids I'm with alone with Mel."

"_Oh no!_" he laughed. "_By the way, did you like the pretty picture I sent you?_"

"Yes. I'm going to take it back to my laptop, print it off, and hang it on my wall in a gilt frame."

"_I reckon it's more of a twenty-one lbs fish_,"

"Bye Taylor,"

"_Love you!_"

"Love you too, you liar," she killed the call. "Sorry about that," she said when she got back to the bench. "Had a couple of things to moan about."

"How are things?" Mel asked.

River explained briefly what was happening, in between ignoring text messages, gushing excitedly about Abigail's little Rae. Finally, when Taylor called for the fifth time, she picked it up and said, "Phone going off now till this evening _bye_!" and switched it off, before removing the battery and placing them in separate pockets. "I wouldn't put it past him to find someone to hack into the network," she told Kevin, who was giving her an odd look. "He's quite determined when he wants to be."

"Do you think the man will sell?" Mel asked.

"Meh," River shrugged. "You can't rush these things. Besides, I have a job to do down here." She looked at the closed planner before her and sighed. "Not that I'm doing much…"

---

Kevin was fascinated with River.

As the day wore on, and she and Gwen kept talking, he engaged in more conversations with her, the more he felt like he was connecting with her. A couple of times she got a bit wound up over something, but she easily wound down again. She had a lot of interesting stories to tell about where she had been and people she had met.

River was very open and honest, and he couldn't help but like her almost straight away. She a sense of humour, which was sometimes quite dry, and she seemed to relate well to basically everyone. By the time they were packing up to go home, Kevin found he had been laughing along with the other three most of the afternoon.

River gave them each a hug before they got into their cars. "Yeah, I'll be seeing you guys around,"

"See you," Gwen gave her a hug before getting into Kevin's car.

River turned to him and said, "Now, you don't strike me as the kind of guy to want a hug, so no offence if I don't give you one."

"None taken," he replied, rather surprised that she confronted him about it.

"Some people like to keep their personal bubble away from other people's." she nodded solemnly.

"River," Mel said in her calm, tranquil voice.

"Yeah?"

"I think we should be going now."

"You now what thought did?" she asked, dancing to the driver's side of her truck.

"He thought he did," Mel concluded, getting into the passenger seat.

They both waved, and River pulled out of the parking lot.

Kevin dropped Gwen off home, giving her an absentminded kiss before driving to the workshop.

He had never quite understood Mel enough to call her a close friend. Steph was her sister, so there was a certain amount of understanding between them. But everyone else acted like she was a revered saint or something; they looked to her for advice, and never questioned her wisdom. Steph was…well, Steph; she took the mick out of basically anything and everything around her, including Mel's mystical aura.

River was the only other person to treat the girl's innate powers with a playful sense of patronizing content. Today was the first time he'd seen Mel give anyone – even her own sister – a sarcastic look. And yet, there was an intimate fondness between the two, unlike anything he'd seen in close-knit groups of friends and families. River took the mick, but Kevin wouldn't mind betting she put a lot of stock by it, since Steph insisted she had _powers of the soul_.

Even if it sounded mental, Kevin was still curious enough to want to know more.

And scared enough not to ask River.

Which was weird in itself; she had to be the least threatening person he'd met so far. And yet, she intimidated him in a way he couldn't adequately explain, even to himself.

That criminal psychology she did might have something to do with it. Still, she hadn't mentioned anything other than to criticize her of profession, saying the only science in it was the biological side like Cognitive functions and physiological changes cause by the brain. Whatever the hell she meant by that…

His badge started screaming at him, and he ran to collect it in a panic.

"_Sup!_" Steph crowed loudly from another part of the galaxy.

"Take your bloody time, then." He snapped, annoyed she hadn't contacted him before now.

"_Jesus, Kevin. What's up your arse today?_"

They started swearing at each other in every language they knew, and Kevin won out in the end because he knew the Null Void slang better than anyone else.

"_Bitch,_" Steph muttered darkly.

He laughed at her. Selfish as it sounded, (since he was happy for his friend to connect with her alien heritage) he wanted her home, back on Earth with them. Swearing at a badge wasn't the same as a fistfight…and Ben was no fun because he always whimped out. Kevin wouldn't dream of hitting Gwen, and since that time they had fought in his room and he had pinned her to the floor, he'd let her push him over a few times when she was pissed off with him.

"When are you coming home?" he whined to Steph.

Her swift response was socking.

"_Three days time. Why, you missing me?_" she teased.

"I have no mechanic buddy!" he pretended to throw a tantrum. "Life sucks!"

---

**I may have waffled on a bit, but I wanted it from River's point of view so you can sort of learn more about her as a person and stuff. She's an entity I've pulled together from people I know and places I've been to. Hence BC, because it was an awesome place and I won't shut up about it till the day I die :)**

**River will have an important role to play throughout this story (and no, she is not a love interest :P I believe Gwen is the only one for Kevin cause I'm weird and I go with cannon cause I feel like it :D) I'll drag the other peoples in, the Vilgax will go 'VILGAX SMASH!' and Steph will bounce right back again, and then sh!t will happen, and I will find some humour and hyperness somewhere ;) no fear. I had the most random day ever, and its only Monday; this is going to be the week of random happenings at school (extra inspiration for me and more lolz for you. everyone wins! :D)**

**Till next we meet (update…thing……whatever!)**

**xxx**


	3. The Simcox Clan

**AN: yey! An update! Woo I didn't think I'd actually make it this week but I did :D**

**Okay, so I rambled a bit more, this time about River, Mel, and their two friends. And the newbie on the team shall be introduced in greater depth in the next chapter, when VILGAX SMASH! Bellwood. River has one of her spacky moments :P**

**Enjoy!**

**_The Simcox Clan_**

"Today is the day." River said to Mel.

They exchanged a glance. "Indeed."

"What day?" Kevin demanded.

They were congregated outside the Rust Bucket (Max Tennyson was out), lounging in the bed of River's truck, and generally lazing around. River and Mel were right at the end nearest the cab, leg's stretched out in the limited space. Ben was lying on his back, legs over the side, staring at the clouds. Kevin was taking a break from his scribbling to give River a quizzical look as the two older girls silently communicated through their understated gestures. Gwen was right at the other end, one foot on the ground, the other in the truck, book in hand, pencil at the ready to take notes on the margins.

"What day?" Kevin pressed.

"The day all hell breaks loose." River said, looking down at her wrist, fiddling with one of her many bracelets. "Or that might be tomorrow when Steph shows up."

"Yes." Mel agreed.

"We're doomed," River said nonchalantly.

Gwen wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not, so went back to dissecting The Great Gatsby. She already hated Tom Buchanan with a passion, but she read into his character anyway for an essay she had to write. Looking up again, she saw Ben snoring, Kevin doodling, Mel knitting, and River doing something with long strips of what looked like…bark.

"What is that?" she asked, pointing.

"Huh? What, this?" she held it up. "Cedar bark. A friend of mine showed me how to make cloth out of it, and I was given a whole sack full of the stuff before I came down." She leant across Kevin to hand it to her. "I'm making a sort of Scooby chain. It's nothing, really. I just got bored."

For tree bark, it was surprisingly soft. And they made cloth with this stuff? She voiced her question, and River launched into an explanation of how it was treated, the correct way to weave it into clothing, and so on. Gwen found it fascinating, and River admitted when she handed the sample back that she got a kick out of being able to pass on knowledge like that.

"It's a real shame," she went back to feeding the strands in a complicated pattern before pulling the knot tightly to make another link. "Such a shame that fewer people know how to do this, or even that it's possible."

"Trees on the what now?" Ben decided to enter the conversation.

"Tree bark!" River crowed, holding it up. "Someone helped me make a dress with it. I wore it to a party on the second to last study I was on. The kids loved it,"

"You can't make cloths out of bark," Kevin muttered. "It's not possible."

"Tell that to my friend, who's…oh yeah," she stared at her hands for a moment. "I forgot. Abbie had her baby."

"And that has _what_ to do with this conversation?" Kevin snapped.

"All right, Mr Cynical," she looked him in the eye, and Gwen saw him look away, face flushed. "I was _going_ to say along the lines of 'don't piss her off she's pregnant' but then I remembered she'd had her baby. Some of us have trouble with short term memory,"

"Why?" Ben managed to twist around so he was lying on his front.

"Okay," she put her bark down and crossed her legs, looking up but still fiddling with her bracelets. "Steph probably told you all about this, but when I was eighteen I had a car accident, and some of my brain tissue is dead."

"Twenty per cent." Mel said serenely.

"One fifth," River corrected, frowning to herself. "Or something like that. The exact number escapes me,"

"Shouldn't you know? Or the doctor?" Kevin asked.

"Okay, that's fine Kevin." River said cheerfully. "You can count all the individual dead brain cells with an electron microscope. What better way to waste your time?"

The others laughed, but Kevin looked affronted by her demeanour to the whole situation.

"It's fine, I'm not angry." She assured him. "People take the piss, but no one does it more than I do. I do pretty well all things considered, but sometimes people need to remember I struggle a bit."

"How?" Ben was in curious mode.

Gwen put her book away and turned to listen properly.

"Well, you can hold between five and seven items in your short term memory. I can only handle about three, because the part of the brain that deals with that is damaged," she demonstrated, showing which part by tapping her skull. "And very occasionally I have a spack attack and my body just shuts itself down. I was classified dead by the PE teacher when we did cross country, and then I woke up when the police arrived, and I scared the _hell_ out of everyone."

Gwen tried to imagine it, but couldn't quite. Kevin laughed, and River shook her head, pulling a face. "I'd liked to have seen that,"

"Yeah, I would have too." She nodded, laughing. "I was still dazed. I didn't know what the hell was happening. People were screaming about seeing a dead person, and I was like," she leant to one side, as though she were a mental patient, and said, "dead person wha…? OMG! Where!?"

"Rather amusing." Mel agreed quietly. "I knew you were still with us."

"Oh, I broke Lea's heart, cause I told him if I got hit by a bus or something he could have my Nintendo." River sighed dramatically. "Some people are never satisfied."

"He would have mourned your passing."

"Yeah. The same way I would if he got hit by a bus." River's expression became dreamlike. "Like a hole in the head."

The sound of revving came from the main road, and they all turned to look at the dirt pathway into the trailer complex.

"Speaking of which," River stood up, and jumped over the side of the truck.

The others took the normal exit via the back of the truck bed, and followed her to the path. Almost immediately, three motorbikes came into view and stopped a few feet away from them. One was black, one was silver, and the other was bright orange. All three riders wore similar jackets and helmets in plain, dull colours.

The first to dismount removed their helmet with a flourish, releasing a main of spiky black hair. The guy couldn't be that much older than she was, a couple of years at most, and he grinned like a little kid at Christmas. He ran forward and swept River and Mel up in a huge hug, laughing. "Heeeeeyyyyyy! Miss me!"

River mussed up his hair, kissing his cheek, and saying, "Grow up, honey. I _did_ miss you,"

Mel smiled that serene smile of hers, and said nothing.

The guy beamed at the other three. "Hi! Name's Mikey," he pulled his gloves off and shook every one's hands, smiling cheekily and giving Gwen a wink.

River cuffed him round the side of the head before pulling him into another hug. "Mikey's harmless. If his flirting irritates you just punch him."

"Aww, Riv," he gave her a dig in the ribs.

"Muppet," she put a hand on his forehead and pushed him away. "Hug me!" she demanded of the other two, who were pulling their jackets off.

Gwen took a better look at Mikey now that Mel and River weren't standing in the way. He was slender, but tall, with fair skin, inky black hair and his lip and eyebrow were pierced. His eyes were curious to look at; the left one as you looked at him was completely chocolate brown, while the other was about two thirds brown, one third icy blue. He wore plain skinny jeans and a black t-shirt with the word 'STOP' written on the front in white fabric paint; when he turned round to look at his two travelling companions, she saw the words 'HAMMER TIME!' written there.

She then turned her attention to the other two, and had to do a double take before she believed her eyes.

They were almost exactly the same, it was creepy; both slight of stature, fair skin, caramel coloured hair, a huge smattering of freckles across their identical faces, and their eyes. Like Mikey, only each eye was of one colour, and the woman's was right one was blue where the guy's left was. They were exact mirror images of each other, all except for the woman's hair was much longer and they wore different clothes, but apart from that, they were identical.

"Guys," River turned round to introduce them. "This is Miley," she smiled and gave them a small wave. "And this is Lyndon-Lea,"

"Call me Lea," he said, shaking their hands.

Their accents were much the same as Steph's, geriatric southern English.

"And this is Gwen, Ben, and Kevin," River introduced.

"Where's Steph?" Mikey asked.

"Re'ath," Mel said, getting her own hugs from the other two.

"Aww, she said she'd be back by the time we got here!"

"Well, we sort of _did_ leave early," Miley pointed out. She was wearing a grey tank top under a blue-green hoody with a low v-neck line and a pair of jeans with a stitched flower design down one leg.

Lea had a pair of baggy jeans and an even baggier plaid red and black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "She'll be back," he concluded.

"You need a hand with anything?" River asked.

"Yeah, can we get these into the truck?" Lea pointed.

They helped load the motorbikes into the truck bed, and River shooed Mikey away. "Go do something useful. We're going back to Mel's."

"Traitor!" he spat, giving her evils.

"Yup," she remained unconcerned. "The twins need a break from you, go annoy someone else." Then an idea hit her. "Go annoy these three. Get to know each other. Now sod off," the brusque way she acted towards him had a fond undertone. So far, River had been nothing but polite and civil to everyone she did not know well; her way of showing her deep-seated affection was much the same way that Steph did, only in moderation.

"What ever," Mikey was unconcerned.

"Oh. My. God." Lea looked at the truck.

"Wassup?" River asked.

He spread his hands out like a preacher of The Holy Book, staring at the vehicle before him in astonishment. "It lives!"

"Yes," River said slowly, like she was talking to a person who was mentally deficient. "This is a problem how?"

"Bloody hell," he wrenched the door open and looked inside the cab. "How did you resurrect it _this_ time around?"

She raised an eyebrow, wrenching her own door open. "What do you mean, _this_ time round?"

"Well, Taylor said it was sold for scrap after that mudslide thing…"

"That was _his_ truck. Now he's got a _Land rover _now." She shook her head, rolling her eyes. "And he still maintains _I'm_ the crazy one."

"Yup," Lea said, nodding in agreement.

Miley and Mel got in, and he followed them, slamming the door shut after him.

"So," Mikey said unruffled. "Anyone fancy a hot dog?"

---

Mikey was the type of person Kevin's mother would call _the class clown_. From the moment they met him, he had been cracking jokes, messing around, being more of an idiot than even Steph or Ben.

Kevin felt the need to sit close by Gwen with an arm around her, watching Mikey with a steely glare. He seemed to have got the message, and toned down on the cheeky flirting. River had said he was harmless, but annoying; Gwen at first seemed affronted by his mannerisms, but then didn't bat an eyelid once she had adjusted.

He and Ben chatted to each other about various sports as they sat outside the Burger shack, their conversation flowing easily and naturally. Kevin sat assessing him while Gwen read a book and doodled in the margins. Mikey explained that his sister dealt with Chinese medicine and acupuncture, so she would be acting at a nurse on the team's behalf, and Lea was a computer genius, so he would be offering tech support. All three were Lupus, so they could all to a certain extent fight, and Mikey admitted he was good at brawling in his animal form.

If it came down to a fight, Kevin could easily take him. Mikey was taller than him, but more slender; he would be easy to take down. Since he was a friend of Steph's, he probably needn't worry so much, but he did anyway.

Eventually they decided it was time to go when River pulled up in her truck and yelled for Mikey. Ben was going to walk home, so he grabbed a portion of chilly fries for the road.

Kevin felt gratified when Gwen decided to kiss him just before Mikey left, still in plain view. It was stupid, but he felt the need to mark his territory; he'd messed around long enough trying to get his and Gwen's relationship to where it was now, and he wasn't about to give it up. If Mikey made a wrong move, Kevin would gut him like the fish that Steph was always threatening.

River drove off, leaving just the two of them sitting at the bench, Ben being long gone.

Gwen closed her book with a snap and cuddled up into his side. "Mmm…"

"What?" he wrapped an arm around her waist, stroking her hair with the other.

"Tired…" she mumbled against his shoulder. "Aliens, homework, new team mates…"

"Makes energy being sleepy."

Her fist found its way to his gut, and he laughed.

"I'm not," she growled.

He chuckled to himself, eternally grateful that she wasn't an energy being, just plain old Gwendolyn, the girl who had stolen his heart.

"You wanna to go home?" he asked.

"No…" she whined.

"Wanna go to my place?"

"Yes,"

He stood up, towed her back to his car and opened the door for her. When he got into the drivers seat, he found she was twisting in her seat to look at the floor behind them. "You really need to clean this up." She told him, prodding a slightly used gym sock.

Kevin said nothing; instead, he started the engine. At his home, in the garage, he stopped the car, and prepared to get out, but Gwen was already sorting through his junk. "Hey!" she protested when he took her by the waist and hauled her back.

"_My _junk!" he insisted.

"You'll get cockroaches in here if you don't," she argued back.

There was no point bickering with her, so Kevin resorted to physically picking her up and carrying her to the front door, pausing only to lock his car. She objected, naturally, but her heart wasn't in it to fight him, so she allowed him to drop her on the bed in his room.

He started his computer up and sat down beside her while he waited for it to load. Gwen took out her stupid book again and took notes. When she slapped him for trying to prise it from her fingers, he wrapped his arms around her waist, leant back against the headboard, and starting playing with her hair.

Gwen's hair was fascinating; every shade of red he could imagine, so soft to touch, and smelled of strawberries like her favourite shampoo. She didn't say anything, just leaned into his embrace, still reading her book. Finally, her father demanded via a text message that she come home for dinner, so Kevin let her drag him back to his car.

He walked her to the door, intent on stealing one last kiss, but scurried back to his car when her dad came out. Gwen gave him a sarcastic look as he waved to her through the glass of the car window.

---

The next day, everyone congregated in the workshop, waiting for Steph to arrive and complete the team. Kevin watched as Mikey and Ben started playing games on Mikey's computer, with Mel and Miley chatting away about England in the corner over mugs of hot chocolate, giving Lea condescending looks as he messed around with his own laptop. River was drawing again in her planner, and talking to Gwen, sharing some travelling stories.

Kevin tuned in and out of what they were saying; Gwen talked about her summer road trip with Ben and their Grandfather, and River related her most recent adventures out in the wilderness. He paid attention when she talked about the trip into the outback at the end of a particularly successful study.

"Oh, it was amazing," River said, flicking through to a page with a map of the world, and showing Gwen the route they had taken. "The study was in Whistler. Then we took a helicopter down into the mountains, and they dumped us there. There were twenty kids and five adults, and they were as good as gold for me. We had all the camping stuff in packs on our backs, and we trekked up the hills, and then we skied down the slopes. It was amazing,"

"Sounds brilliant," Gwen said.

"Oh my God," River grinned, flicking back to her picture. "When I finish down here Taylor and I are going back again. If we have the resources, I'd love to take you lot too. It's fantastic for young people. And the scenery!" her eyes glazed over with the memory, and Kevin guessed she was far away in the wilds of Canada instead of a workshop on the industrial side of Bellwood. "It's beautiful,"

"You know," Lea began, setting his laptop down beside Gwen and continuing to type, giving River a superior look. "You don't miss BC because you miss Taylor, or Judy and Brian, or you housies."

River gave him a sarcastic look, pen held in her hands like a dagger.

"She only loves BC with a passion because of the landscape."

"Obviously," River laughed it off. "No. I actually hate Taylor's guts. The only reason we're trying to buy a house together is so he'll marry me and I don't have to go through the immigration process and save myself the paper work." She nodded gravely as Lea laughed. "The only thing going for him is him being Canadian and living in BC,"

"You're such a bitch," Lea commented.

"Ain't I just?"

He leant around Gwen to punch River lightly on the arm.

"Okay, okay," She shook her head. "But, in all honesty,"

"He's puts up with more from you," Lea cut in.

"I wouldn't say that…"

He gave her an incredulous look.

"Well, I put up with his crap too." She pointed out, turning back to her picture. "I stub my toe on the doorjamb and he acts like I've had a major stroke. It gets so irritating,"

"Didn't you though, when you went to the Bad Lands of Alberta?" he asked.

"It was more of a mini spack attack, to be perfectly honest." She shrugged. "Plus, it was self inflicted because I didn't drink enough that day…"

"Cause you're a muppet," Miley pointed out from the other side of the table.

"True," River became quiet as the conversation moved along, and she continued to sketch in tranquil bliss.

Gwen got up to help Mel man the electric kettle, and – consumed by curiosity – Kevin slunk over to River and Lea to take a look at her latest instalment of native art. The two were having a good chinwag their respective jobs down here.

"You got the paperwork through yet?"

"Nope," Lea was still tapping the keys of his laptop, but looking at River as he did so. "My certificate is still in my parents house. I haven't been able to get it over here."

"Too bad," her forehead was creased in concern. "That's a real shame."

"What about you?"

She grinned. "Getting it put through the office. Applied for child and juvenile _rehabilitation_ programmes, cause I'm sick of the way these studies are run."

"Mmm, I heard about the last one," he commented.

"Bloody typical," River spat, seething over the matter. "The powers that be are like 'oh cause we're actually really ethical' and then they go and treat those poor kids like they're animals rather than people, and I try to do something about it by pointing out that if you treat them like hardened criminals then they'll rebel against you and _become_ just that, and I get kicked off."

"Because you have common sense," Lea pointed out, giving her a knowing look through his floppy, caramel coloured fringe.

"Pisses me off," she muttered darkly, glaring at her motif. "_So_ much."

"That study disbanded." He pointed out.

"Yeah," her face brightened somewhat. "They boycotted the tests they were given." She removed a memory stick on a large set of keys from her pocket and took his laptop without a word. Lea just watched as she minimised the windows he had open, and stuffed the stick into the USB port. She sifted through many folders of junk until she found the picture she was looking for. "My boys," she said with pride.

Just over a dozen boys between the ages of fifteen and eighteen were seated on and around a row of tables in a bleak and dreary grey room, with River right at the heart of them. Some of the boys were pulling faces, the rest were smiling at the camera; all were clad in those orange one piece suits you see in the movies, except River, who was wearing a black skirt and a dark grey formal shirt, smiling amidst the sea of happy faces.

"Cool," Lea smiled at her himself. "Bet they were sad to see you go,"

"I get emails from them on a regular basis," it was a cheery thought. "I love them so much. See those two?" she pointed.

"Yeah?"

"I got a birthday _and_ Christmas card from them,"

Kevin took her preoccupation as an opportunity to slip the planner away from the table so he could have a closer look. In the top right hand corner she had sketched a rose with its petals falling; in the centre was a set of seven circles within a larger one, each with a different set of colours and an animal. So far, she had sketched out five rough shapes, was working on the colour of one, and completed the other; a brown and russet killer whale.

The work-in-progress was an eagle with spread wings, in soft blues. The other five were harder to make out…a fish? A bear. Possibly a dog… Maybe that was a fish as well? No, it looked more like a dolphin… And that one looked like an elongated cat with a snub nose. What the hell was she doing?

"It's rude to go through other people's possessions, you know," Lea said suddenly, fixing Kevin with a piercing glance.

Kevin dropped the planner as though it was made of acid.

"It's fine," River said vaguely, waving Lea's criticism away with an absent-minded gesture of her hand. "It's not like my diary or anything, I use it as a sketchbook."

Lea gave him a suspicious look.

River cuffed him playfully round the side of the head. "He's not doing any harm," she said patiently, more concerned with the laptop than with Kevin.

Lea readily gave up his visual interrogation, evidently placated by her words. He grandly ignored Kevin for the next half hour, to which River and Miley gave him sarcastic looks. In the end, he stalked off when Miley informed him he looked too grumpy than the occasion called for.

"You wonder why he gets pissed off with you," River scolded.

Miley shrugged, and took the laptop from her to play online Tetris.

"Fair enough," River shrugged, going back to her picture.

"What is that?" Kevin asked on impulse, pointing at the circles before biting his tongue.

"That," River prodded each one in turn as she explained, "is an orca, an eagle, a salmon – sockeye to be exact – a bear, a wolf, a dolphin, and an otter."

Her offhand manner was somewhat disarming, so Kevin started work on his car again, tuning out everything around him.

That was, until Mikey started whooping loudly. Rolling out from under the car, Kevin tried to comprehend what was going on.

Mel, calm and tranquil as ever, was standing up and walking serenely to the doors, followed by Miley and Gwen. River, Lea, Mikey and Ben brought up the rear, and Kevin tagged along to see what was going on.

Steph's red jeep was sitting on the tarmac, with two people getting out of the front seats.

Kevin pushed past the others to get there first as Steph jumped out of the drivers seat, looking bemused until she spotted him, then grinned widely. They swept each other up into a bone breaking hug, laughing, elated. She went on to mob Ben, who was just as ecstatic to see her as she was, before lifting Gwen off the ground, crowing loudly. "Oh my God! I missed you guys!"

"Yoo-hoo!" Mikey poked her squarely between the shoulder blades. "Do I look like chopped liver?"

"Michael!"

"Stephenie!"

They tried to crush each other's lungs, nattering away about the nerve they had of not being around when the other had been, and so on. As she moved on to tackle the Simcox twins and River, Kevin felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see a pair of twinkling sapphire eyes. "Hello Kevin,"

"Hey Ian," he grinned back.

They watched as Steph descended last of all upon her sister, lifting her off the ground and spinning around on the spot, laughing joyfully, eyes full of moisture. Mel kissed her cheek, returning the hug with a content smile. "I missed you too," she said simply.

Kevin had never seen Steph cry, but that's what she did now. "I never thought I'd say this, but…" she grabbed a startled Ben and effected a loud sob. "Don't ever leave me again!"

"She enjoyed it really," Ian assured them all.

"I did, I did!" she insisted, taking her place between Ben and Mikey. "But I missed Earth," her bottom lip trembled dramatically. "I even missed the smoothies!" she confessed, burying her face in her hands.

Kevin punched her in the gut since she wasn't guarding, and she swore at him. They wrestled until someone put a foot wrong and they tumbled to the ground. Steph sprang up and held out a hand to him, looking hopeful. "Hotdogs?"

"I second the notion!" Mikey piped up in the background.

"I'll go see your mother and Gerald before I leave," Ian said, giving his eldest daughter a hug and kissing her cheek. "Hello, sweetheart,"

"Hello, Dad," she smiled at him.

Ian checked his watch. "You lot will be okay?"

"As okay as we ever are," River sighed, exchanging a look with Lea, who laughed.

Steph stretched her arms out, draping one over Ben's shoulders, and the other over Kevin's. He grinned at her, wrapping an arm around Gwen's waist, towing her alongside Steph and Ben as they walked forward. Mikey looked at them with tragically neglected eyes. Gwen held an arm out to him, and he linked his arm with hers. Steph gave him a quizzical look, and said, "You on the team now?"

"If you'll let me," he said, with a cheeky grin.

"I think we can allow that," Ben mused.

"My day has just become the most awesome day of my life _ever_," Steph beamed.

The five of them set of in a line to the park where the stall owner was still selling his hotdogs, all in high spirits for the future.

---

Lea was enjoying America very much; they had taken a ferry across the Atlantic, something his sister had always wanted to do, and then biked it to Bellwood from the seaport. He liked the differences between here and home in England, and could appreciate fully the way River always drew comparisons to her beloved Vancouver Island.

She was sitting on the arm of the sofa, staring at the TV without seeing it, and no one else noticed.

Mel was in the kitchen with her parents and Gerald; Miley was reading a book with her ipod on full blast against the singing from the attic where Mikey was revelling with the other teenagers. The younger children, Ella, Erin and Kev were watching Spongebob Squarepants. Tom and Dylan were in the study, trying to fix the computer, so the only person who noticed River's suddenly listlessness was Lea.

He snapped his fingers in her face, and then gave her a shove.

Her body sat bolt upright like before, and her eyes had that glazed, shrouded quality to them, dark stormy grey in colour.

Lea knew about Mel being her Spiritual Guide in physical form, and that Taylor was fully aware of what she could do, what she _did_ do, whenever that look came over her.

Lea had nicknamed it 'going sideways' because that's the way she described her mind worked. She was seeing something, and he couldn't tell whether it was good or bad. Miley tried to understand and sympathise, but was unable to relate to their friend; Lea was more sensitive to 'the other side', so he knew enough to make sure River was okay while her soul drifted in that void between reality and the spirit world…or whatever they were called. Mel knew more then he did, but she wasn't in the room right now, and with so many people around, he doubted she could feel her out among the excess emotions floating around.

Finally, after nearly a full twenty minutes, River's eyes closed and she took a deep, shaky breath, slumping against the back of the couch. Hastily, Lea pulled her away from the edge where she could fall onto the wooden floor below, and propped her up against the cushions.

"What is it?" he asked.

She rubbed her temples and looked up, eyes a confused smoky whirl of uncertainty. "Something's coming." She paused.

"What?" he asked. "What did you see?"

"Green light." She blinked furiously, trying to clear the vision from her head.

Lea loved River, but he wasn't _in_ love with her; it was a huge difference. They might as well have been siblings; they were so close, she was his best friend in the whole world. Right now, he was worried by the look in her eyes, like troubled waters far out at sea, the depths stirring together.

"What, a cyclone? A storm? Can you get that in this state? Isn't that further north?"

"No. It's not a weather system," she yawned, suddenly exhausted.

Mel always said her car accident was the best thing that had happened to River, in terms of her future, but Lea knew it was a doubled edged blessing. Something had jolted the part of her brain that handled the spiritual aspect of her being, which also had to compensate for the rest of the tissue that was dead. As a result, when these visions came (over which she had no control) it left her drained and she could sleep for hours to regain her energy.

Lea got her an ice cold drink, and dragged Mel back to take a look at her. Miley joined in the check up, feeling River's pulses and checking her tongue for signs of infection, and generally checking her physical health. Lea kept her conscience mind at ease, seeing she was starting to panic, while Mel soothed her active psyche.

Lea always found it amusing how River had one friend for each aspect of her being, Miley and her Chinese medicine for her body, Lea for her mind, and Mel for her soul. The funny thing was that River fore filled each of these roles for the others. That's why they loved her so much; she was the first to drop everything she was doing for a friend in need.

Right now, she was getting flustered more by the sudden focus of attention than the impending vision.

"Green light…" Miley mused to herself, probably thinking back to imagery poets such as Owen and Sassoon adopted in their writing. "What could that signify?"

"Voldemort being a prat?" Lea supplied.

River gave him a poisonous glare. "There's nothing funny about that statement," she bristled.

"Meh," he shrugged. "So what is it then, oh great one?"

"I don't know!" she snarled. "You always expect me to know,"

"Seems like an omen," Mel said quietly. "Something that will happen in a flash of green light."

"It can't be _that_ obvious," Miley exclaimed. "Can it?" she added in a small voice. She found it harder to relate to these things then the other three.

"Something feels ominous," River admitted. "And I saw something else…"

"What?" Miley pressed.

"It reminded me of the fish market in Venice," she said blankly, staring at Lea. "Remember when we stayed in that house just off San Marco Square?"

"Yeah," Lea said slowly, wishing to forget the stench of rotting fish and the harsh screams of gulls fighting over the offal. He had enjoyed the culture, living like a local, speaking pigeon Italian from a phrase book and stumbling over the pronunciations. But the stall owners and shopkeepers had been so pleased to see tourists speaking their language and asking their opinion on foods and wines that the price often dropped a few euros. The stench of meat and the canals, he could live without, but it was worth it for the Venetian customs and people. "What about the fish market?"

Miley recoiled from the memory of the smell, and River smiled weakly. "It looked like a…like a _big_ baby squid. I saw that, then it went black for a bit, and then there was the green light, and a sense of forbidding, then I came back."

"What, attack of the killer baby squid?" Lea joked.

They all laughed, and River shook her head. "That will be the least of our troubles, for now at least. It felt close."

"Time or space?" Miley asked.

"Both. Not that far off. I'd say a week ahead at most."

Lea frowned; this was the first time she had gone sideways since she had last been in England, and then she had predicted a very minor car accident that was merely a dent and scratched paint outside Tesco Express by the motorway. He could see this time was taking a toll on River, who was yawning again.

"I'll drive you to the farm," he said, getting up.

Miley gave her some herbal mixture to clear her mind and waved them off at the front door. Lea drove the truck to the farm, and by the time he parked in the sweeping drive, River had fallen into a coma like sleep. This was her body's standard way of telling her to recharge, so he lifted her out of the passenger seat in a fireman's lift and took her key to unlock the door to the tiny bungalow. He dropped her on the bed and threw a blanket over her before closing the door behind him and walking deeper into the trees.

He phased into his Lupus form and bounded in a straight line through the undergrowth back to the Smith-Tanner's, hoping in vain the worst her vision could bring was an explosion at a sushi bar.

---

**Lol I bet you can work out what that vision was all about ;)**

**Next chapter will be a rework of Vengeance of Vilgax, and Kevin will become a mutated…thing, whatever he is. I read somewhere its actually part of the life cycle of his alien heritage, but the name escapes me…began with an 'o' I think :S but I've decided Ben will be less of an immature little git face and Kevin will be less of a jerk, and there is a reason behind that which I shall reveal to you all in good time :P**

**Anyways, I can't update until next weekend, cause of homework :( SAD FACE! :'(**

**But I WILL be back ;) you can't be rid of me that easily! :D**

**xxx**


	4. Vengeance of Vilgax: part 1

**AN: hooray for the weekends!!! This is all I have to say for myself this week xD I think I deserve a break from work since I managed to fall up the stairs **_**five times**_** today and lose all my notes from last week ¬_¬… damn stair cases to the fiery pits of HELL.**

**Anyways, I got lazy and decided to give this episode-thingy to you in two parts. In my defence, this may well be the longest chapter I've written for either story so far. Point of view jumps round a bit, but hopefully if make sense (probably does compared to my war poetry I have to read…I feel depressed just thinking about it :'( )**

**Enjoy!! ;)**

_**Vengeance of Vilgax**_

_**Part 1**_

Mikey rolled along the pavement on his skateboard, following the route Steph had told him to the workshop. She was going to drop by a bit later, but first she had a home course biology degree that had arrived in a huge box by airmail and she ad to sort through the contents. Lea was acting rather distracted, and Miley was just being herself, so Mikey had set off on his own. (He didn't take his bike, since he had managed to misplace his wallet after five minutes of sing star last night, and he really didn't want to run out of fuel and be unable to pay for more.)

He arrived in good time, sipping a smoothie, and wondering what they had planned for the day. Inside, Kevin was under his car, and Gwen was sitting at the table with her work spread out over it.

"Heye," Mikey hopped off the board and scooped it up in one motion.

Gwen smiled and waved, and Kevin muttered "Whatever,"

Mikey pulled a face. _We're cheerful today_… he thought too himself. He pulled out a battered copy of Twilight and began to read.

"You like Twilight?" Gwen was astounded.

"Yeah, s'aright," he shrugged. "I'm doing a sort of home course in English Literature, and this was one of the books I had to look at. And I borrowed it off Miley." He paused, staring at the page in front of him. "That just sounded so weird. I borrowed Twilight off my older sister,"

Gwen started laughing.

"How sad am I?"

"There's nothing wrong with that," she argued.

"What does it matter?" Mikey leant back in his seat, tipping the chair onto two legs the way Lea did, hands folded behind his head, knowing Miley wasn't there to tick him off. "I turned in my man card years ago."

"How?" Kevin wheeled himself out from under his car.

"Well," Mikey counted on his fingers. "I play the flute and the piano, I dance, I like Twilight, I can cook, I enjoy netball, horse riding, painting…" he wondered how Kevin would take his next statement. "And I like the girly music like Miley Cyrus, M2M, Taylor Swift," he laughed at Kevin's expression.

"Get out of my workshop," he spat.

Mikey shrugged, and Gwen laughed at him. "Fair enough. Don't get me wrong, I like rugby and football and stuff too. And karate. I am a _well rounded_ individual." He nodded solemnly.

As River said, _the well-rounded man – the most limited of specialists_.

Kevin proceeded to quiz him on his tastes in music. Mikey wasn't too picky, unless it came to rap; he liked a bit of everything really. He was pleased when he discovered Kevin liked Relient K, though Gwen's opinion of him seemed to be going down and down as they talked about rock bands in general.

"Where's Steph, anyway?" Kevin asked eventually.

"Something about sorting out a crate of text books for this home course she's doing in Biology." Mikey shrugged. "Suppose she got bored with you lot in school."

"So what are _you _doing instead of school?" Gwen fixed him with a steely gaze.

"Me? Odd jobs. You know, standard stuff: wash cars, walk dogs, teach music…anything that gets me a little bit of money. I can do slight of hand tricks as well, so I've done a couple of children's birthday parties in the past," he produced a battered deck of cards from his pocket and shuffled them. He did it the old fashioned way, River and Mel just knew by looking into the person's eyes. Since those two had been friends of his for ages, he should have been over how creepy they were, but it still freaked him out how River could always guess with her back turned and her eyes closed.

"Of course you can," Kevin snorted derisively.

"I welcome you to try, my friend," Mikey challenged, closing his eyes and shuffling the cards some more before he dealt one.

After five consecutive goes in which Mikey correctly guessed Kevin's card, he tried it on Gwen. "But can you do this?" she asked, creating a flower in the palm of her hand.

"Okay," Mikey leant on his elbow and pointed with his other hand, "now that's manipulation of energy, which is beyond my field of expertise, so I'm going to sulk and call that _cheating_," she laughed at his mock scowl. "And River can do a similar trick but everything she makes is blue.

That pulled them both up short. "River's an Anodyte?" Gwen asked.

"Erm…" Mikey was lost. "No…I don't think so. We don't really know _what_ she is. I don't know what a…what did you say?"

"Anodyte," Kevin repeated, giving Gwen a look that Mikey didn't quite understand.

"Yeah," he waved at the word vaguely. "River does a little bit of," he paused for dramatic effect. "_Witch craft_."

Kevin snorted and Gwen rolled her eyes. "No such thing," she dismissed.

"Well, she does _something_, even though I don't know what. Besides predict the future and generally creep me out," he shuddered for effect.

"So what _can_ she do?" Kevin was sceptical.

"Pretty sparkly glowy lights." Mikey shrugged. "Small children love it. Her ultimate excuse is," he emphasised the quotation marks, "'_cause she's special'_. She _says_ it's magic, but I dunno if it is."

Gwen quizzed him on how she did it, and he shrugged again. "Does she say anything?" she pressed

"_Alaka ZAM!_" he flicked his hands at her face. "For this kids' benefit. She just rubs her hand together and, hey look at that, there's a random butterfly or something equally random…ish."

He remembered she used to throw blue and silver stars at him when he was younger, and he had tried to catch them before they melted into thin air; he'd loved it. She hardly did it anymore, probably because he was a bit old for star chasing…

"Meh," Kevin shrugged, but Gwen looked interested.

"How does she-?"

A harsh bleeping noise filled the air, and Kevin swore. He grabbed for the badge lying on the table surface, a pressed something. Mikey thought vaguely to himself that his own badge should have been screaming too, but the other two were already running out the door, so he had no time to dwell upon it.

"Wassup?" he called, following them.

"Something's up a few blocks away," Kevin said as he drew level with them. "It's close enough to get to on foot,"

"I buzzing Steph and Ben," Gwen reached for her own badge.

They rounded a corner and saw a huge…thing. It looked like a snake, some sort of cobra, but it was massive, with an almost humanoid face.

"Bloody hell," Mikey said, feeling his shoulders tense for the coming fight. "What _is_ that thing?"

"Don't ask, act!" Kevin bent down and absorbed the concrete under their feet.

Mikey nodded. "Gang way!" he sprang forward in one fluid movement, and was on all fours with his tail flinging wildly from side to side before he barrelled into the snake, snapping his jaws in its face. It threw him off, but Mikey hit the ground running, headed towards a nearby wall and jumped up against it before launching himself back at it.

He wished Lea were here; he worked best with another Lupus. Heck, even precious Miley who never got her paws wet would be an advantage. As Kevin came running forward, with Gwen behind him, Mikey jumped to the side attacked the snake's flank as Kevin clobbered him in the face. They pulled away, and swapped places; Kevin got caught by the lashing, scaly tail, but Mikey managed to spring forward and get his teeth sunk into a flailing arm, making it hiss in anger and pain.

That gave Gwen enough time to lash out with her energy and topple it over. Mikey sprung away before he could get hit, and ran back to Gwen before he bounded back in for another attack.

A Shriek from above heralded Steph's arrival, and she landed on the snake like a ton of bricks. She flapped her wings to gain height, before diving in and clawing at its face with her talons, buffeting it back and forth with her wings. While she kept him occupied, Mikey went for the unprotected gut, and Kevin grabbed the tail.

"Where's Ben?" Gwen yelled to them.

"Don't know," Steph began, but got swept out of the air and hurled against a wall. "Don't care…" she groaned, sliding to the ground.

"Guess that fancy watch of his doesn't keep good time," Kevin snarled, trying to evade getting slammed into a wall. He failed, and got thrown into Mikey.

He winced as they crash together into a parked van. "Jesus!" he stumbled to his feet, panting in an effort to lose the heat in his body that was trapped by his thick fur. "You weigh a ton!"

They both attacked in a pincer formation, but the snake-thing hissed and spat huge drops of acid green liquid at Kevin, and he fell over, covering his eyes and yelling in pain. The snake descended upon him, but Mikey leapt over and stood his ground above Kevin, snarling. It was low, attacking a person when they were down; he hunched his shoulders and bristled his fur to make himself look larger and scarier while Kevin got to his feet.

Gwen blasted a fire hydrant and sent the water to Kevin, washing the venom from his eyes. Steph dove in and drew attention away from them for a moment, so Mikey let his guard down and turned to Kevin. He carefully liked his face, removing the bitter tasting toxin. He remembered River reeling off a list of random useless facts, one of which that Lupus saliva is the best antiseptic for humans, and hoped she was right.

Gwen hovered anxiously by his side. "Are you okay?"

"Better for the water," he smiled briefly at her before turning to Mikey, the smile sliding off his face. "Not for the dog spit."

Mikey snarled, about to say something, but Steph yelled, "A little _help_ would be greatly appreciated if it's not _too much trouble_!"

Mikey was there in one bound, teeth aiming for the jugular, claws scraping away at the scales.

"I'm gonna bloody kill him!" Steph screeched.

---

Red? Or green?

Maybe even navy blue.

Oh, the agony of choice.

River, Mel and Miley were in a shop at the mall, choosing colours for the quilt they were going to make for Abigail's little boy Rae. Girls were easier to choose colours for, they were already arguing about complimenting or contrasting. At least, Miley was (so typically stubborn), Mel was merely pointing out the flaws in her plan; River was texting Taylor and her older brother Alec, asking her boyfriend what colours Abbie's partner liked and demanding to know how her godson's first swimming competition had gone.

She was about to call Alec, when her phone started ringing, and she saw it was Lea. "Heye," she said into the receiver.

"_Can you get over to the smoothie place?_"

Wow. Not beating about the bush? "Wassup?"

"_Dissension in the ranks._"

"Meaning…?"

"_Steph and Ben are actually trying to kill each other, and I think Kevin's about to commit arson._"

River sighed. "Okay, I'll be right there," she promised, not wanting to leave poor Lyndon-Lea to patch everything up. After all, as an almost guidance councillor, that was _her_ job.

"_Thank you!_" he said gratefully, and rang off.

"Guys," River ran up to the others and linked an arm with each. "Kid's are trying to burn the city to the ground, so I'm going to go sort it out. I'll leave your bike in the parking space," she said to Miley. "You got a spare helmet?"

"And jacket," she assured her.

"Okay, see ya," she scuttled off to her truck.

Mel had suggested taking the bike in the truck bed just in case, which was just as well now. River checked the jacket and helmet were safely in the saddlebags before getting into the cab and starting the engine.

She had learned how to control children, and teenagers, through experience; her mom was a teacher, she had five brothers, two older god sisters and a god brother, two younger god sisters and a godson, possibly another one at this rate. It was getting the balance of when to be sympathetic and understanding, and when to fall on them like a ton of bricks. She liked keeping good friendships with the kids she worked with, but she wouldn't let them walk all over her.

One way or another, someone was going to get yelled at today.

---

Kevin was livid.

Not only was Ben being nonchalant about not showing up when they needed help, but acting like he could do it all by himself. He was so full of it today; it was a wonder Kevin hadn't punched him yet. He had had a lighter on him, but Lea had wrestled it from his grasp after making a quick phone call. Steph was now shouting at the top of her lungs, with Ben yelling back; Gwen was shooting comments in here and there, alongside Kevin, and Mikey was sitting at a table with his forehead resting against the plastic top, hands on the back of his head, saying nothing.

Steph then rounded on him, demanding his own input, and Mikey jumped to his feet, swearing at her and saying it was pointless to yell at each other, and ended up with another fight starting.

It wasn't until Kevin saw Lea from the corner of his eye run to a car that pulled up in the parking lot that his attention wavered from their argument.

He paid no attention to the familiar blue truck until a piercing whistle struck his eardrums, and he had to cover his ears with his hands to block it out. Dazed, he looked up to find the others looking equally pained, and River lowering her hand from her mouth.

"Right," she said pleasantly, taking a drink from her flask. "I want you all to sit down calmly and one at a time explain why I was called up here so urgently."

They grudgingly moved to the table, except Ben and Kevin who glared at her.

"I said _now_," she didn't snap, but there was a steeliness about her voice, and a flash crossed her eyes that propelled Kevin to Gwen's side at the picnic table.

"Here," Lea drew up his bike to the bench, and they both leaned against it so they were at the head of the table.

"Thanks," she smiled at him, before turning to the others with that steel like intent look in her iron-grey eyes. "Now then. I'm going to start here," she pointed at Steph to her right, then made a sweeping motion with her hand, "go round and finish here," she pointed at Kevin. "Why was I summoned?"

Steph exploded furiously about Ben's disregard for their well being, and he objected violently. They were about to start at loggerheads with each other again, but River stamped it out before they could even start.

"I _said_ one at a time!" she snapped, and they all looked at her wide-eyed.

Lea was inspecting his helmet intently, ignoring them all.

"I have better things to do with my life then sort out childish problems you have with each other like this. We are not leaving this bench until I know why Lea had to call me to come out here and sort you lot out. I said one at a time, and I _mean_ one at a time. If you want me to treat you like little kids, then I will." She turned her gaze to Kevin, and he bulked. "So we'll start with you and see if you can be more mature than these two." She jabbed a thumb at them. "What happened?"

This River was so different to the one who drew Native American style animals in her planner and told travel stories with such pleasure; it was like meeting a totally different person. It took a moment for Kevin to order his thoughts properly to speak, but when he did, he just skirted the bare facts, and pointed out that Ben was at fault, not wanting to draw it out like he would have loved to since this new River would get angry.

It had to be the first time that he was trying to avoid upsetting an authority figure.

He wanted to keep in Frank Tennyson's good books for Gwen's sake, and not put up her grandfather off him, but this was different. He had quite liked the happy, smiling River that had babbled on about stuff in general; the person sitting across from him was watching them with an almost cold indifference, like she was angry that they had forced her to be here.

When he finished, she said, "Thank you Kevin," like she was addressing a schoolboy. Her expression remained the same when she nodded, "Gwen?"

She said the same thing as Kevin, in as many words. Mikey moaned about the stupidity of the whole thing, leaning against his elbows until River told him sharply to sit up. Ben mumbled something about not knowing they had needed help, and River made him repeat it because, "No one can understand a word you say if you speak like a five year old with their thumb in their mouth." Steph growled and grumbled about Ben being pigheaded how many injuries they collectively had from his no show.

River took a moment or two to digest what they were saying, before she spoke. "Right. Now I have the facts, this is what I want you to do." It was like having your hands slapped by a teacher, yet Kevin was still reeling from the sudden change in character, so much so that he was almost upset.

He _hated_ not knowing where he stood with people.

"Ben," his head snapped up at the sound of his name. "You need to listen to your team-mates more," she raised a hand at his objection, silencing him with a fixed stare. "A team is useless unless _everyone_ has their shoulder to the wheel. You need to respect that, and be ready to drop whatever you're doing if they need help like they did today." She turned to Mikey. "You, for a start, need to stop slouching," she began. He sat bolt upright. "Better. You're older than the others here," she waved a hand around at them. "And I would have expected you to be more mature rather than bury your head in the sand, or let someone wind you up like that. I expected more from you," he looked severely put out. "Gwen," she looked up reproachfully. "Yes, you're angry, yes, everyone yelling and screaming, but I think you could have done more to stop the fight from escalating." Gwen looked at her hands in dismay. "Someone has to be the voice of reason," a ghost of a smile touched River's lips before she rounded on Kevin and Steph. "As for _you_ two," she pointed. "I can appreciate where you're coming from, but that does _not_ give you the excuse to yell and scream at each other. I don't _ever_ want to be called out again for something like this and find you two are the ones stoking the fire. Am I clear?" Steph muttered something, and Kevin remained silent. "Am I clear?" she said again, demanding a response.

"Yes," Steph said grudgingly, meeting her eyes.

Kevin still didn't say anything. He didn't know what to make of the situation.

His initial thoughts on River were that they could get away with a lot of things with her in charge, not get ticked off like a first grader.

"Kevin," she said decisively.

He pretended not to hear, and looked at the tabletop instead.

"Kevin Levin, look at me when I speak to you,"

He raised his eyes and turned his head to look at her, and wished he hadn't. River's gaze was still a steely, iron-grey, and full of disappointment that was directed at him. Kevin loathed people being disappointed with him; he'd rather they got angry and shouted, like Cain did, he was used to that and could cope with it. Being a disappointment was his life story; disappointment on his mother, his little sister, his dad's memory, Gwen…basically everyone he cared about.

And now River.

"You wouldn't like it if I started yelling and screaming at you for doing something wrong, and I would have hoped you would have the sense not to do it to other people." Her calm tone was grating against his nerves, and rather than get wound up about it, Kevin felt his confidence fall to pieces.

"Next time," she raised her voice and addressed the bench at large, "I want you to sort it amongst yourselves, like the responsible, mature people you're supposed to be."

One more sweeping glance around the table, and she got up. "I have to go pick up Mel and Miley," she said in her normal voice to Lea.

"Sure thing," he nodded, getting up.

"You coming too?" she asked.

"Got nothing better to do," he mumbled to himself.

"Come on, then," she was suddenly back to normal, which was even more unnerving.

Lea shoved his bike into the truck bed and jumped into the passenger seat. River had washed her hands of this manner, and said goodbye in a more cheerful voice, but said nothing else.

Steph and Mikey exchanged looks.

"I'd forgotten how scary she can be," she muttered.

"At least _you_ don't have her for extended family," Mikey glowered. "And she _would_ have a go about my posture…"

"That's your own fault."

"Is not,"

"Shut up." Gwen sighed, massaging her temples.

"Ben's fault," Kevin chipped in.

"Don't anger the River," Mikey affected a mystical tone. "She's fiercer than the forces of nature itself."

"And so is the fungus growing under my bed, but you don't hear _me _harping on about it." Steph said decisively.

Mikey shrugged. "Fair enough. Can't argue with cultures of mutated dust bunnies."

"Eww," Gwen complained.

"Oh well," Ben tried to slip away.

"I'm still mad at you!" she accused.

Mikey grabbed the back of his jacket and forced him to sit down. "Face the music. Having a pissed off girl on your heels is not a fun experience."

Steph snarled something incoherent.

"Whatever you say, Stephenie,"

"I stab you in the back a thousand times until you die!" she poked him furiously in the neck with a smoothie straw, thus breaking the tension and making them all laugh.

"Okay, Steph?" he deftly removed the straw from her hands and tied it into a sailors knot. "That's my _neck_ you're poking, stabbing involves more of a thrust using the whole arm, and," he held the finished article momentarily before flicking it at her, catching her right between the eyes and making her curse loudly, "you can't stab someone with a plastic take away straw without a _lot_ of power behind it."

"Please, no physics!" Ben moaned.

"Wimp…" Kevin muttered.

---

Miley was slightly surprised at how stressed out River was from the whole exercise; Lea and Mel were happy enough to forget the incident and go off in search of fabrics, but Miley took River aside and felt her pulses in both wrists.

"You get wound up too easily." She stated; her friend's liver lines were out of control, while her other pulses were merely agitated.

"Meh," River shrugged.

"What on Earth got you so riled up?"

River explained that the great protectors of their planet had just had a major bitch fight with each other. "Maybe they think they can get away with it," she said, eyes narrowed dangerously, flashing and almost greenish sort of blue.

"They are finding the boundaries you are placing for them. They'll learn," Miley used to baby-sit for money in her sixth form days; children needed to learn where they stood with her before they could get along. Sitting on them until they realised when you said no and meant it also helped

"I feel so guilty," River suddenly said, hands thrown up to her face.

Uh-oh. There she went again…

"Whatever for?"

"Because the look on Kevin's face," River looked her in the eyes, and Miley was taken aback by the emotion she saw there. "It was like I'd just betrayed him or something. It was so…" she struggled to find the right word.

"Need a thesaurus?" Miley joked.

Lea appeared from nowhere with his phone and offered it to them, saying, "Dictionary!"

"Argh!" River stalked off and started attacking the rows of coloured ribbon by herself. "I hate that stupid…" she went off on a tangent and swore in every language she knew, which rivalled Steph's own vocabulary. The only difference was Steph spoke about fourteen Earth languages fluently; River spoke five fluently, enough in three more to get by, a little bit of a couple others, and another twelve where her only phrases were the choicest insults and curses of the country, and how to order a pint of whatever alcohol was being served. As her Croatian friend had said when they went out to a party in Osijek, _what more did one need abroad?_

"Calm down," Lea murmured. When she didn't, he sighed, grabbed her in a fireman's lift and marched out of the shop.

River protested loudly, and Miley tried to ignore the passers by staring at them (it was impossible to pass Lea off as a stranger to her when they were so blatantly related). He dumped her in the bed of her truck, glaring at him, before producing a tube of Pringles from his rucksack. Miley helped herself without asking, never needing to request anything from her darling twin brother.

Mel settled calmly on River's other side, and held the tube out to her. She accepted the Pringles and ignored Lea's presence.

Sometimes, just to wind her up, he gave her the same treatment, but today he was going out of his way to cheer her up. He took a collection of straws from his backpack, ones he had pilfered from ever fast-food joint from Portsmouth, UK, to the east coast of America, and proceeded to shove one up each nostril and into his ears, ruffle up his hair like he had just received an electric shock, and placed three Pringles in his mouth in a triangular shape.

Miley raised an eyebrow at his antics, not for the first time questioning his sanity, while Mel sat placidly by, saying nothing, and do naught but hold the Pringle tube. River was glaring a hole through the bed of her truck until Lea tapped her shoulder, and she spun round to have a go at him.

He went cross-eyed, and let one side of his mouth sag, tilting his head the opposite way, and River started to giggle. After five seconds of failing to suppress her laughter, she fell onto her left side and howled with laughter at the sheer stupidity of the whole thing. "You…look…so…" she gasped for air, "…so…_stupid_!"

Miley had to hand it to him; in his own, weird way, he could bring a smile to anyone's face. Once the hysteria had calmed down, and River could breathe again, Miley checked her pulses. She mentally cursed him for the less frantic liver line that she felt beneath her fingertips.

"If you get an ulcer," she threatened.

"I'm clearing it up." River agreed, taking a sip of water from Mel's flask.

Miley sighed. River _had _had an ulcer before, in her stomach, and coughed up blood over her netball uniform just before a match in Australia. That hadn't gone down too well with anyone, especially Miley who had had to clean up their hotel room afterwards.

She was always so apologetic about the whole affair, but for today she said nothing about it, and instead settled into her favourite corner of the truck bed.

"So," Lea removed the straws and sat up straight again. "Anymore thoughts on that Voldie green spack attack of death?"

Miley was too used to their bastard form of the English language, and felt herself above such slurs on their mother tongue, so she abstained from the conversation.

"Nope," River looked troubled again. "But I had another sideways moment this morning. We're in for a rough ride over the next couple of months…"

"Who's we?" Miley entered to the discussion again.

"I have no idea." River frowned. "I feel the need to keep an eye on Kevin, but I don't know why…"

"Maybe because he needs a guide?" Lea said quite seriously.

"This isn't Girl Scouts or Explorers, Lyndon." Miley said impatiently. "This is serious."

"You could be right," River interjected. "But who could it be?"

They all gave her withering looks, including Mel (or as withering as she ever did look at anybody).

"What, _me_?" she asked incredulously.

"Just a suggestion," Lea soothed. "Past like that, I know _I'd_ be full of insecurities."

"Let's not start psychologically analysing everyone insight, okay?" Miley asked politely. "The world doesn't need another Sigmund Freud."

He didn't deign to look at her, but held up his hand and made a rude gesture at her. She returned his kind gesticulation by not deigning to respond. Instead, she turned to Mel and said, "What do you think?"

Mel took a moment to answer, weighing each word carefully before she spoke. "I think we'll find out when we find out."

"What?" Lea was stunned. "No witty puns? No cryptic riddles? No mystical crap? Who are you and what did you do with our Mel?!"

"Oh, grow up!" Miley snapped.

"In all seriousness," River began, and the other two became quiet at once. "Tension's mounting." She rubbed her temples and sighed loudly. "I wish the storm would break already. I hate the limbo before hand; it drives me insane, not knowing what the hell I'm doing."

---

Later that afternoon, River was sent scurrying down to the workshop in a panic when Max Tennyson contacted her to say that someone had invaded and set up a fight against himself and Ben. From what River had gathered, Ben was going through a silly stage, like every teenaged boy, but some old foe of theirs had returned at just the wrong moment.

Sod's Law, as her Dad was fond of saying.

God bless the expressions of Her Majesty's Royal Navy.

As River pulled up outside the building and ran inside, she wondered vaguely why she still thought of the British Navy that way, when she was pressing for her Canadian citizenship and passport. Anyway, none of that mattered right now; she needed to keep calm and help iron out a plan.

Suddenly, Miley's euphemism of 'Girl Scout Leader' wasn't far off the mark.

"Right!" she swept in, grabbing Mikey and Steph by the shoulders and dragging them forward. "Major crisis has happened: details please, people,"

"Basically," Steph began.

"Your hair looks nice," River said, admiring the long plaits and braids with little painted wooden beads in red and gold, and delicate looking feather that were already screwed up as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Thanks," she smiled briefly. "So, there's this guy," she paused.

"That doesn't tell me anything, sweetheart,"

"This douche bag," Kevin began.

"Can I talk to someone sensible?" River asked the room at large. She noted how Kevin sank into the shadows at her comment, and the small guilty knot in his abdomen twisted. Maybe she was being a bit too bitchy since she'd really gone for them earlier today…

"Vilgax came to Earth to fight Ben," Gwen explained.

"Oh." River tried to remember where she had heard that name. "Oh," it hit her. Then… "Oh shit!" That most certainly was _not_ good news. And she had freaked Ben and Kevin out over her use of words. "I apologise for my appalling language but let's file that complaint some other time. I was sent down here to give you lot a hand,"

"We're in deep-" Mikey began, but River clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Not helping," she stressed her words.

"Here," Kevin lead them all to his car, and they had to squeeze in to look at the small screen in the dashboard. He explained about the tech he'd installed, and River made a mental note to ask later; right now she wanted to know what was happening.

"So…what do we do?" Mikey asked bleakly as they watched their enemy flatten the rookies and Max Tennyson.

"He's a tough cookie," Steph agreed, though River could tell she was freaked out as much as the others.

"You know you're omnitrix?" Kevin said to Ben.

"…Yeah?" he said slowly.

"We're gonna hack it."

River had a sinking feeling in her gut, and by God she followed that gut of hers no matter where it led her. "This sounds ominous."

"It'll be fine," Kevin said nonchalantly, getting out of the car.

River was the last to follow him to another garage and walk inside. With pastural care, she had more authority than most when it came to these teenagers, but as far as missions went, she had about as much power as her Godson's Harry Potter wand made from plastic and rubber.

"Okay, I know I can't stop you guys," she began as Kevin started up the large machine that clicked and whirred into life. "But can I offer my advice?"

"You might," Kevin was unconcerned.

"I think there's a lock on that thing for a reason," she eyed the watch dubiously. "I don't know much about technology, but I know enough to that fail-safe's are named so for a reason."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Gwen asked, anxious on both of the boy's behalf.

"Of course," Kevin scoffed.

River folded her arms across her chest. "As you wish," she shook her head. She could tell he was stubborn, even without asking the others for their opinion. "I need to get hold of Miley and Lea. My badge is in the truck. Just promise me you guys aren't going to do anything stupid or reckless while I'm gone?"

Kevin gave her a sarcastic look.

A classic defence mechanism.

She had really hit a nerve earlier, and she was thinking deeply when she went back round the corner to her truck about how to handle someone like Kevin. His past records which had been dumped on her desk when she had applied for the job down here had been promptly dumped in the skip on her way out, where it belonged. She thought more about handling a person with his personality and traumatic past than as a criminal.

Contacting the others was easier said than done; she had to find the bloody thing first before she could do anything. After rummaging around the junk under the seats and in the back, she found it in the truck bed underneath her rucksack. A slip of paper was folded messily beneath it, and she gave it a quick glance before she contacted the twins. It was some random scrap piece of manuscript paper, with a name in the top right hand corner. Oh, it was Kevin's. She'd have to give it back to him at some point.

Lea answered, and they were just forming a strategy when there came an explosion from the building she had just been in, accompanied by a flash of green light.

"_Riv? River!_" Lea panicked. "_Damnit, answer me! What happened?!_"

"The building just exploded!" River felt sick to her stomach.

"_Mikey's in there!_" Lea was horrified.

"Get your butt over here now! I'll go see if they need medical assistance,"

"_I'll get Miley,_"

She dropped both her bag and badge into the truck bed and ran as fast as she could to the garage door. Most of the roof had collapsed; rubble was everywhere, and in the thick dust that permeated the air made it hard to see. She called out, and a groan reached her ears.

---

Gwen had been confused by the turn of events; one moment she had been readying herself to slap some sense into Ben, the next the machine overloaded, and then something warm and rough had knocked her off her feet. She had been surrounded by soft blackness, and felt a strong thudding against her shoulder and a low snarl in her ear that rumbled so deeply it actually shook her body.

It took a second to work out that Mikey had transformed faster than she had thought logically possible, and flattened her to the ground – that thudding she could feel reverberating was his heart beat, and the growling was probably from debris.

He slowly stood up, still standing over her, shaking the rubble from his shoulders and looking around him. "Guys?" he asked the dim remains of the building.

Gwen felt a tug at her elbow, before a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders and pulled her to her feet. "Gwen! Mikey! Thank God! What happened?" River demanded, checking them over for injuries.

"I…don't know," Mikey sniffed his way across the room before burying his nose into a pile of broken concrete from which he pulled a green sleeve.

"Ben!" the two girls cried out in unison.

River gave him a quick check as well, and Steph too once she freed herself from a tangle of cables from the old wireless router in the ceiling. "Thank God," she kept murmuring to herself. "Where's Kevin?"

Gwen's insides twisted themselves into painful knots. Where was he? What had happened? He and Ben must have taken the full blast; as he okay?

Ben looked dazed, so River took a small torch from her pocket and told him to follow it while she checked his eyes.

Someone groaned weakly, and Gwen was there in a flash, pulling the rubble away. "Kevin?" she asked frantically. The blocks of cement crumbles away, and she gasped.

Her brain refused to register what she saw for a moment, and that brought River running. "Is everything okay? Do we need to-?" she stopped, and her eyes widened considerably. "Kevin! Oh my God – are you alright?"

"What?" he struggled to sit up, and River knelt down beside him to give him help.

Gwen remained frozen where she was.

His body was now segmented, covered in a layer of different substances, what looked like wood, a metal, rock, and…some crystalline material. He hadn't noticed yet, and babbled on about the explosion as Gwen numbly reached for her pocket mirror.

"Half the garage fell on me," he protested against River's attempts to keep him calm.

"Dude!" Mikey burst out. "That was _not_ half the friggin' garage! _The whole bloody building fell down_!"

"Calm _down_, Michael!" River snapped. "Or so help me," she threatened.

"Of course I look a little…" Kevin looked up at Gwen's shaking hands. "Beat up…"

It took a moment for him take in what was reflected back at him. He raised a hand to his cheek, before staring at it in horror.

"_No_!"

So fast that she didn't see properly, he knocked the mirror from her hand and it smashed into the remains of the opposite wall, faster and more powerful than any strike from a normal human.

Kevin sprang to his feet, and looked down at himself in disgust. River was still crouched on the floor, eyes wide and staring straight ahead with a most peculiar expression on her face.

But that didn't matter; Kevin's distress was her first concern.

"I'm a monster again," was his immediate reaction.

"Calm down, Kevin!" she placed a hand on his shoulder to placate him. She could feel rough rock beneath her fingers, which was alarming. She tried to remain composed for his sake, to keeping him from freaking out like she knew she would in his shoes. "Just try to change back," she suggested.

"Yeah, right," he said to himself. "Just concentrate," He tried…

…And failed.

Steph hovered by his side, eyes wide as saucers, probably trying to take it all in like the rest of them, and not quite managing.

"Its no use," the despair in Kevin's voice nearly broke her heart, but she remained levelled headed…somehow… "It must be feed back from the watch like the last time," they never referred to that time in the past, for obvious reasons, under normal circumstances.

"But Ben knows a lot more about the omnitrix now," Gwen reminded him. "I'm there's something he can do. Right Ben?" she threw caution to the wings and turned to him for help.

He looked horrified, for whichever reason – there were so many to choose from right now – and shrugged helplessly.

Mikey hauled River to her feet. She sagged for a moment, before pulling herself up again. "Okay," she said quickly but calmly. "Miley and Lea will be here shortly, panicking. You guys sure you're not hurt?"

No one answered.

"Right," she tapped Kevin's shoulder, and he turned to her robotically. "Here, watch the light," she held her finger up, and waved the torch from side to side. "Bad news," she bit her lip. "I have no idea what the hell just happened. Good news, you're not concussed."

This didn't seem to sink in, and Gwen took his hand in both of hers, wishing she could offer some comfort, but not sure how to.

"Gwen," she turned to Ben, who was looking at the omnitrix. "Look,"

"Sup?" Steph asked shakily.

"I'm missing some aliens," he said, pointing.

---

Max watched Ian pace up and down outside the Rust Bucket, eyes fixed on the wilted grass that was crushed beneath his feet. "What are we going to do!" he burst out, suddenly.

"Ben's refusing to let me take his place," Max sighed.

"If anything happens to any of those children, I'll never forgive myself," Ian said wretchedly.

He had recently taken their welfare, especially Kevin's, deeply to heart, and they hadn't had contact from them since yesterday evening. Now it was early the next morning, and still nothing.

Lea had run by to say that no one was seriously hurt physically, that he had to go, and said no more. Max had hoped that at the very least River would have got a message to them by now, but nothing had come through. Ian was anxious for his youngest daughter, who was gadding off who knew where in this chaos, doing who knew what.

Both men jumped when Max's badge went off screaming.

"_This is a recorded message. It's River. Long story short, kids tried to tamper with the watch, the building collapsed, Kevin's…I don't know what's happened. But some aliens escaped from the omnitrix; Ben's on his way over there now to face Vilgax, Gwen and Kevin have gone to find the last missing alien with Mikey. I think Steph's planning on flying ahead. Miley Lea and I will be there soon to handle any casualties. End of message…or what ever Plumber's say_,"

Ian looked almost more haggard than when his pod had landed back on Earth, and Max had to make him sit down before he collapsed. He went to make some hot drinks, remembering the Avis partiality to hot chocolate, and slipping a load of whiskey into the mug; hopefully enough to keep him calm until Steph arrived. Ian gulped the drink down in almost one mouthful, and Max sighed.

They waited in silence, until the faint sound of wing beats floated through the air, and Ian was on his feet to fast he knocked his mug over.

Steph landed heavily and disappeared in a flash of harsh white light before running into her father's embrace. "Dad!" she cried. "Oh dad, something awful's happened!"

"What is it?" he held her at arms length and looked into her eyes. "What's happened?"

They were both alarmed by her gaunt appearance; her skin had taken a sickly pallor to it, much paler than her normal, healthy tan, and there were deep bruises beneath her eyes. Her expression was worst of all; something haunted her features, and she looked like she needed a good long sleep. But with all this going on, she was far too wound up to sleep unless they gave her a tranquilliser, and he could imagine the protest she'd put up against that idea.

"Kevin, he-" she gulped

"What's happened?" Ian said more gently.

"I don't know!" her eyes were bright with unshed tears. "There was a feed back impulse from the watch, and-"

"Why?"

"We tried to hack into it but-"

"You _what_?"

"It was his and Ben's idea! Then Amzuth told us not to, but Ben tried again anyway. The machine overloaded, and Kevin went back to help him, and then-!" she very nearly did cry then, something she was not known for, and instead buried her face in her father's shoulder.

"Okay," Ian said calmly. "We can sort this out, but you need to calm down,"

"I'm not going to sleep," she pulled away vehemently. "I'm Ben's second in the fight. He needs me,"

Both men were never ceased to be amazed by Steph's unwavering loyalty.

Nevertheless, Ian said, "You haven't slept,"

"I don't need it," she griped.

"An hour or even just half hour would do you good," he suggested.

She considered for a moment before relenting. "Okay. But _promise_ to wake me up,"

"I promise." Ian said, and pulled her to the steps of the Rust Bucket.

---

**Tah-dah!**

**It's like gone midnight in my neck of the woods, so Imma go bed now, cause my pillow is more comfortable than this seat. Happy readings people! :P**

**Also, the feedback I have been getting has not been overly negative, so I'm hoping that means you're enjoying this :) keep on reviewing plz, you know how much it means to me ;)**

**xxx**


	5. Vengeance of Vilgax: part 2

**AN: and so, it came to pass, that I managed to write this all in one day! YEY! Since next week is going to be mental because I'll only have two full days of school lessons due to trips and university fairs and – gulp – AS RESULTS DAY!!! (which I only took one winter module :D suckers!) as such, I have taken to writing these chapters over the week in bits and pieces to ensure something worth reading on Saturday. Next week will be impossible because I will have so many freebee pens to scribble with on application forms and certificates, so I decided to while away my Sunday writing a decent length chapter for you. I promise the next chapter will make up for the delay! :P**

**SO! ;) bon appetite!**

**(not that you eat stories or anything…or DO you???)**

_**Vengeance of Vilgax**_

_**Part 2**_

Mikey ran head long across the desert in pursuit of Way Big, with Kevin's car hot on his tail. Ben had had to go back to face Vilgax, with Steph going on ahead of him, and Mikey's siblings were going to help River hold fort long enough for the other three to retrieve the remaining alien.

Mikey was following the scent trail, since every time Gwen tried to track him her manna pointed back to Ben. The trace was leading them across the desert, west by west by west, as the crow flies; Mikey lopped along, tasting the different smells around him in the air, tongue hang out of his mouth in an attempt to keep cool.

He tried not to dwell on the reasons for why they were out here, chasing down an alien from a watch. Instead, he focused on the task at hand, sniffing at the air and looking for deviations to tell him which direction to go.

So far, they had trekked straight and true like an arrow across the rocky, arid planes.

Dawn was nearly breaking, and they had to hurry, so Mikey increased his pace, and heard the car rev to keep up. He could lope for hours; once he had run from the southern most tip of England all the way up to the northern apex of Scotland in less than twenty-four hours, and as long as he paced himself and didn't over heat or dehydrate, he could probably clear the next state if they had to.

Only they didn't have time before the alien would disintegrate.

A pounding headache was starting to build up inside his skull, and Mikey knew he had to stop for water. His and Gwen's badges were linked, so he said aloud, using it to communicate, "I have to stop for a drink,"

"_Be quick,_" was all she said.

The car slowed, and Mikey cast left and right until the smell of cacti caught his attention. He struck an old specimen to the ground and tore it apart with his claws before lapping at the residue collecting in the broken remains. He was eternally grateful to River for watching all those Rae Mears programmes on UKTV Documentary; he would always know where to find food and water.

When his thirst was quenched, he ran up the rise he had slid down and back to the car. "Let's go!" he barked at the windscreen and waited for the engine to start before turning back to the scent trail. "It's getting stronger,"

He ran for another ten minutes before coming to a stop at the edge of a deep gorge. Kevin and Gwen got out of the car and stood either side of him, looking down into the ravine. "Now what?" Kevin asked.

Mikey cast around. "I lost the scent," he tentatively slid down the slope, feeling the dirt crumble beneath his paws.

He made it down to a small ledge, and crept over to the edge to look down. There was a valley below, with a stream, and their quarry was further down to the north, following the river. Mikey threw back his head and howled to the others.

Gwen landed lightly beside him, and he guessed Kevin wasn't far behind. What he hadn't counted on was Kevin dropping on them like a stone; the already loosely packed earth of the ledge gave way completely and they all tumbled headfirst down into the ravine.

Mikey tried to brace his legs against gravity, but that only made the sandy earth pull away from the rock bed, so he curled himself into a ball and waited until he rolled down into the stream. He stood and shook the liquid from his fur, tasting the bitter water against his tongue, which filled his nose and blotted out the trail completely. "Damnit!" he snarled.

"Not my fault," Kevin snapped.

"Not you," Mikey crawled up onto the bank and shook himself again, trying to rid of the smell of minerals. "I can't smell anything but the water," he sneezed loudly. It cleared his sense somewhat, and while Gwen and Kevin recovered from the fall, Mikey sniffed around to find the scent again. "This ravine is rich in minerals. I can't find Way Big's trail."

"Do you think you can find it again?" Gwen asked anxiously.

Mikey cast around, nostrils flaring. "Hang on," he lowered his head and sniffed the sandy earth. "I saw a shadow heading north, but I need to find the scent again first,"

---

Kevin watched the wolf wander back and forth, nose to the ground, moonlight reflecting off the silver piercings in his lip and eyebrow. He was so sure of the course they would take as he meandered up against the flow of the stream, catching the scent and then lopping up along the bank.

Physically, Kevin felt different; stronger, more durable. Powerful even.

But that wasn't worth the price.

He looked like a monster again, _was_ a monster again; despite what anyone had told him so far, that couldn't change the fact that he had mutated beyond recognition.

The last time this had happened, it was only due to the fact that his human body had matured into adolescence that he had reverted. But his body wasn't going to develop anymore, just grow in size.

He felt so hopeless as he followed in Mikey's dusty wake.

"Got it!" he called over his shoulder, and began to run. "Just up ahead,"

They ran for five long minutes until they drew up alongside Way Big, who was sitting cross-legged on the bank and scooping water into his mouth.

"Great!" Mikey enthused, standing on the alien's foot and scrabbling against his leg. "If we can just convince to follow us,"

"Without a brain?" Gwen managed to say weakly.

"I'm sure there's a spare brain cell of Ben's in there somewhere," Mikey said, head butting his knee. He started grunting and snarling, trying to gain Way Big's attention, sounding more like a wolf than before.

Kevin turned back so he could retrieve his car, and as he did so the sun peaked over the horizon behind him. All three of them turned their heads to watch the red disc slowly creep up into the sky. Kevin turned again to climb up the slope, and his gaze fell on Gwen.

The light from the sunrise fell across her face, catching the red in her and highlighting the look in her eyes. Her expression was full of sympathy and pity, and worst of all, understanding. No one knew how he felt right now, and he couldn't bear to look her in the eyes.

---

Gwen watched him leave the gorge, and felt tears well up in her eyes.

Mikey started leaping back and forth, jumping up and down like an over grown puppy and shouting, "Yes! This way! C'mon, Bigfoot, follow me! Yeah, keep walking, right this way!" Way Big sauntered down stream, after Kevin, and Mikey nudged Gwen's elbow. "Come on, if we run we can get him back to Ben before the fight,"

Gwen covered her face with her hands and fought back the tears.

"Gwen?" Mikey stood before her; head level with her shoulder, peering up at her in concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she croaked. "I'm fine,"

Mikey leant up and licked her cheek comfortingly. "C'mon, Bigfoot won't make it back to Bellwood without Ben's guiding intelligence."

She followed him up to the car, and got into the passenger seat while Mikey kept encouraging Way Big to pursue him.

It was so horribly unfair!

Ben had been such an idiot, and Kevin had gone back to save his butt, and this had happened to him.

Kevin had come such a long way since the beginning of spring, and she had been certain that they would keep going at the same pace.

He had thrown himself into harms way countless times to protect others; Gwen knew he had changed where it really mattered, and that he really was a good person.

But she hadn't counted on something like this.

Her heart twisted painfully in her chest every time she looked at the desolate expression on his face. Fate had been unkind to him, so many times; it was no wonder why he was always so cynical. But the silence from the drivers seat was eating into her, and she knew that he probably felt eleven times worse than she did.

What could she do?

There was nothing she could say to make him feel better. She couldn't change anything.

She wanted to cry, but that would make Kevin feel worse.

Gwen stared at Mikey's frolicking form in the early morning sun as he danced back and forth around Way Big's feet, trying to clear her mind.

---

Steph was livid.

Max Tennyson had forced her into the Rust Bucket and refused to let her leave. He had said that the fewer the number of people involved in the fight, the better.

This was insanity!

With Mikey, Kevin and Gwen gone, it was just her and Ben; and she wasn't about to let him waltz off and fight Vilgax without support.

The rookies were cooped up in the RV with her, pouring over a sheet of paper. Steph was so close to blasting the door apart to get out, she couldn't just sit there and do nothing.

She was still fuming when Alan grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. "What the-?"

"We're busting you outta here," he said in a low voice.

"Every hero needs a sidekick." Manny smirked at her.

"For your _information_," Steph snapped as Cooper took something and strapped it to her left wrist. "I am a hero in my own right! And what the _hell_ is this thing?" she pointed at the thick leather band on her arm.

"Your dad was teaching you how to use fire," he said simply, like he was talking to her five-year-old brother. "This will enhance that ability."

Steph took and closer look, and snapped her finger experimentally.

A fireball sparked to life around her fist, and she grinned. "Awesome!" she let the fire die down and looked around at the other rookies. "What's your plan?"

Pierce stood up silently, and started prising the skylight open.

"That it?" she asked blankly.

"Max is arguing with Ian," Helen said from the door. "He won't notice if you give him the slip,"

Manny gave her a leg up through the narrow gap, and she climbed out onto the roof. "Good luck!" they all whispered after her.

Steph balanced next to the ariel and peered over the edge of the RV.

Her father and Max were at loggerheads with each other.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous this whole situation is?" Max demanded.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do!" Ian snarled. "And I know that Steph won't abandon her friends when they need her. You think you can tell that girl what to do?"

"If she's smart, she'll stay put and let _us_ sort this out."

Steph tried not to laugh. _Go Dad!_ She thought to herself.

Ian huffed loudly. "Knowing that girl, she's already found a way out of the bucket of bolts,"

Steph couldn't resist jumping into the air and transforming, probably giving both men heart attacks.

"See you round!" she circled above their heads. "Ben and I have some squid to fry!" she was so proud of herself for making a couplet up like that on the spot.

"Be _careful_, Stephenie!" he father called after her. "I'll follow you later!"

She followed the activity in the park to the place where Vilgax was waiting, and settled on a rock to wait. She was inside the barrier now, and Max wasn't going to follow her now she was in.

"And you are?" asked one of the squid's minions.

"Tennyson's second," she said flippantly, preening her feathers. "What's it to you?" Avis preened when they felt safe to let their guard down; doing so in front of an enemy like this was an insult. God bless Ashley for her crash course in Transmorphor invectives.

The filthy look she received made her smirk.

She spent her time preening her feathers and assessing the battlefield. She noted all the landmarks around her that would give Ben an advantage, and considering how best to defend his position from above in case he lost.

Her badge screamed at her, and she pecked at it with her beak.

"What is it?"

"-_Hacking into the media system right now,_" Lea said

"_Woot._" Mikey answered. "_You there Steph_?"

"Yup. Sup?"

"_Ben should be there soon_," Lea told them.

"Where are you?"

"_The workshop. I sort of used Kevin's computer to hack into the system._"

"_And we're still leading Bigfoot in a merry dance across the desert._" Mikey added.

"And the other girls?"

"_Sis and Riv are grabbing medical supplies, they'll be there ASAP_." Lea assured them all.

"_See ya then. Ben should arrive soon. Steph, be careful out there,_"

"Will do. I'll do what I can, but hurry the hell up, guys!"

She pecked her badge again and rearranged her wings again, ready to spring forward and attack if need be.

Steph grew nervous as the time ticked by, and she was about to have a full-blown panic attack when Jetray flew by and landed in the middle of the field. He announced his arrival, and she flew over to him.

"I thought you were a no show," she said shakily.

"It's a big forest," he reminded her.

"So," Vilgax stepped out into the sunlight, and Steph half expected something dramatic to happen like him melting. He _looked_ like the creepy heap from the deep off that Scooby-Doo show she had watched years ago. The thought made her want to laugh.

"You decided to show up."

Duh. Steph was so tempted to say it out loud, but she bit her tongue.

Ben narrowed his eyes up at him, and reverted to his normal self. "Steph,"

"Yes?"

"Hustle,"

They both spun round and walked a respectable number of feet away from Vilgax and held a conference. "Okay," Steph murmured, and went through the mental list she had compiled.

She was gratified to see him actually pay attention to what she had to say, but knowing him, he'd pull a rabbit out of a hat or something equally irrelevant and unhelpful and save the day.

"Alright," Ben looked down at the omnitrix and began flicking through his options.

"Ben, for God's sake, _be careful_!" she hissed as Vilgax approached them. "I don't know when the other's will get here and I don't know how long I can hold off Lord Tentacles if you go down."

"I'll improvise," he assured her and went to meet him on the grass.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Steph said frantically.

"Nope," he admitted.

Steph sighed, feeling her feathers sag. "If you die out there, I'll kill you," she muttered to herself.

---

"Almost there!" Mikey called, still jumping back and forth, but with less vigour now that he had been at it since daybreak.

"You look tired," Gwen said worriedly.

"I'll be okay," he danced back and forth, trying to make Way Big not step on the parked cars. "When this is over, I'll take the world's longest power nap,"

Kevin followed them down the road, feeling numb. He barely noticed where they were going; he just kept that frolicking black tail in his sights.

"There!" he yelled, bursting into the leafy park. "The cavalry's here!" he shouted to the phoenix in the air above them, who gave that strange, ethereal call to Ben below in the clearing.

"About time!" she shouted at them.

Mikey skidded to a halt as Way Big continued forward blindly, and Gwen crashed into him. She fell over backwards, and he turned his head to look at her, but Kevin pulled her to her feet mechanically before Mikey had even had a chance to speak.

"You reckon we made it in time?" she asked.

Steph landed beside them. "In the nick of time," she said.

Ben was preparing to reabsorb Way Big. Steph was tensed, ready to attack.

"Standby," Mikey hunched his shoulders. "I have a bad feeling…"

"Omnitrix malfunctioning." Steph shook her head to clear her vision. "I don't like the odds,"

"Sneaky pincer attack," Mikey said. "Go!" he snuck around the edge of the clearing.

"Oh for…" Steph swore.

Ben prepared to go Way Big, hitting the face of the watch. When the light subsided, there stood Chromostone.

"God Damnit!" Steph snarled. "I'll cover his ass," she took off.

Kevin allowed Gwen to drag him after Mikey.

"What part of pincer don't you understand?" he hissed.

"Hey," Kevin punched his shoulder. _No_ one spoke to Gwen that way.

"Kevin!" she slapped his arm.

"What?" came his reflex reaction.

"Argh!" Mikey yelled.

Kevin's head snapped up in time to see Vilgax bring his blade down against Chromostone's head. It shattered and sprayed fragments everywhere.

They looked on in horror as Steph dive-bombed Vilgax, shrieking with rage.

"No! _Ben_!" Gwen screamed.

Mikey barrelled forth, flattening Vilgax with a snarl.

Gwen nearly collapsed, and Kevin reached for her, holding her up. She clung to him like a rock in the middle of the ocean; sort of ironic considering what had happened, shaking from the effort not crying.

It had been such a crap twenty-four hours.

Even if it was Ben's fault he was this way, he didn't want him to die. Dare he say it: Kevin had come to think of him as a friend. He looked up in despair as Steph ruthlessly attacked Vilgax over and over, screaming her defiance. Mikey stood over the broken body like a sentinel, snarling at Vilgax.

Kevin wasn't sure what to do to help; all he could do was hold Gwen.

He was intensely surprised when the fragments beneath Mikey's feet began to shift and move. Of all the surreal moments in the last day or so, watching Diamond Head reform from the remains of Chromostone.

Kevin was beyond taking in information by this point, so he barely noticed when Vilgax went down, and Max Tennyson came out of no where and banished him from Earth. Gwen hurled herself at Ben and hugged him, laughing with relief. "I thought you were dead!"

"So did I, for a second," he said, before Steph ripped him from his cousin's arms.

"Don't you _dare_ ever scare me like that AGAIN!" she screamed at him, crushing him in her embrace.

Ben said something, but the words were choked in his throat. Mikey was licking everyone's faces.

"Victory, smoothies, and naps all around!"

"You're celebrations suck." Kevin told him.

"Excuse me!" he snarled right in his face. "_Who_ pranced around the desert and back with Bigfoot?" his tongue lolled out of his mouth, and suddenly the strain from the night. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to collapse." And he did so, tongue against the ground, breathing deeply.

"I'm proud of all of you," Max began.

Ian landed beside Steph and transformed. He swept them all up into a hug, and sighed. "Thank goodness you're all alright." He said. "That was some beautiful flying techniques, Steph,"

She positively glowed with pride. "Shucks Dad, it was nothing. What self respecting Avis would have done less?"

"Hello?" Mikey croaked. "Dead dog over here?"

"Switch back, dog breath." Steph told him.

The fur receded until a skinny seventeen-year-old boy was lying face first in the grass. Steph and Ben hauled him to his feet, and Kevin was shocked to see the dark rings beneath his eyes. "Oooh…I'm gonna sleep for a week after this," he groaned.

"Easy, Wolverine," Steph patted his shoulder.

"Kevin?" Ben asked tentatively.

He looked up, and his friend cast around for a moment before settling on his choice of words. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened last night. It was completely my fault." He sounded sincere. "You saved my butt, though I don't really deserve it…"

Unable to resist winding him up, Kevin punched his shoulder. "I'll forgive you."

"Speaking of forgiveness," Steph piped up, turning to yell at three figures running towards them over the grass. "Where the _hell_ have you been!?"

"You kidding me?" Lea demanded, holding a shiny silver box in his hands. "It's a Monday! Traffic's _murder_,"

Miley screamed, and practically absorbed Mikey into her embrace, crying loudly. River tried to console her, while checking on everyone else; Lea prised his younger brother from his twin's clutches and hugged him, ashen faced. "If blood sucking killer squid aliens of death won't kill you, _I_ will!" he hissed menacingly.

"We all good?" Miley asked, pulling a bag of band-aids. "Damnit, I had some proper stuff here…"

"Stuff?" River asked, putting a hand on Kevin and Ben's shoulders. "Are you kids alright?"

"Sir Squidsalot sodded off into the sunset," Mikey informed her.

"Not quite," Ben pointed out. "It's midmorning."

"Shut up, Ben," Steph poked him between the eyes.

"Ouch!"

"Now children," River put a hand on Steph's fist and lowered it. "There are more subtle ways of showing your mutual dislike of each other. Now," she clapped her hands together. "You all look exhausted. Let's get you something to eat and then get you guys home. You deserve a rest,"

"Here," Miley handed out small packets of herbs. "Helps you to sleep," she answered their unspoken question.

Ian and Max herded the three new arrivals back towards the Rust Bucket, leaving the five teens behind.

"So…" Ben held out his hand. "Still a team?"

Steph and Mikey accidentally punched each other when they put their own hands out. Gwen laid hers over theirs, and looked at Kevin expectantly.

"I was gonna!" he protested, following their suit.

His fingers curled around hers, and she gave him an affectionate squeeze.

"So…" Steph echoed Ben's earlier sentiments. "My place? The twin's can go in Dyl's room and we can crash in the attic. It'll save you having to tell your parents where the hell we've been for the last twenty-four hours," she tactfully didn't mention the explaining Kevin would have to do to his mother if he went home like this.

Now that the danger had passed, he wanted to sleep more than anything else, so it was in a dreamlike state that Gwen pulled him back to his car.

"Hey!" River called after them, running.

"Sup?" Steph asked.

She slowed her pace to a walk and said, "Your dad wants you to take everyone back to your house. We'll go there later in my truck. Kevin," she took Lea's silver box from her pocket. "We…" she bit her lip. "We sort of had to use the computer in the workshop to hack the system. And a circuit blew," she handed him the box.

Kevin took looked, and saw it was the router. Damnit, he'd need to get another one…

"We're happy to replace it, since we kinda did destroy it…" she pulled a face.

"On the plus side, our identities are still secret!" Ben enthused.

"Shut up! You make it sound like some lame-o spy film," Mikey snapped.

"Oh, shut up, people," River sighed. "I have a head ache…"

"Well, if that's everything," Kevin wanted to sleep, and not on the road.

"Actually," rover took something from the rucksack on her shoulders. "You left this in the truck bed. It's got your name on it, so…"

She handed over the manuscript paper he had been working on the other day, when they were waiting for the Simcox's to arrive. In the rush of events yesterday, he'd forgotten all about it.

"Thanks," he mumbled, taking it from her.

"You okay?" she asked quietly, so the others couldn't hear.

"Meh," he shrugged, failing nonchalance.

"Here," she handed him a scrap piece of paper. "You want to talk about anything, give me a call." She patted his shoulder. "It's what I'm here for," she smiled briefly.

He just nodded, and got into the driver's seat.

---

"How are they?" Max asked.

River led the way into the attic and sighed. "Washed out. They barely drank their chocolate before they zonked out."

Mel was sitting with the twins on the edge of her bed, the girls with knitting needles in hand, and Lea on his laptop. Steph, Ben and Mikey were all face down in the sea of cushions in the middle of the floor, snoring in unison; Gwen was spread eagled on the sofa, completely out of it, and Kevin was curled up under one of Mel's blankets against the side of the sofa.

River sighed again, running her fingers through her hair. "Poor guy,"

"Ben told me what happened. After Steph got her penny's worth in, of course."

"Oh, Steph," she waved the thought away. "She'll live."

Mel was unexpectedly by their sides, and put her own penny's worth in. "I think this is the reason why you felt the need to come down south." She stated.

"You don't _think_ that, you _know_ that." River accused. "Thanks," she accepted an undrunk mug of hot chocolate.

"Well?" Max asked Lea.

He launched into an explanation of what he was doing now, and Max only half listened. He watched River and Miley cover the kids with more blankets and remove the cups and mugs, lest Steph or Ben knock them over. River very carefully lifted Kevin's head, and slipped a pillow underneath, then laid him down again.

Lea stopped talking and raised an eyebrow at her.

"For his neck," she said defiantly. "He'll wake up with a killer headache otherwise."

Something unspoken passed between them, and Mel raised her own head to look River in the eyes. She sagged, suddenly weary, and grabbed Mel's pillow in preparation to catch her own fifty winks. The twins exchanged looks, a sort of understanding being passed between them, before they turned to Mel.

"Sleep and time are the best healers." She murmured gently. "That, and friends."

The Simcox twins nodded, and River let her head fall onto the bed and closed her eyes. "You and your ethereal crap sickens me. Wake me up when its breakfast."

Miley patted her head consolingly.

"Shoo. Be gone! I don't want your sympathy, I want sleep!" she swatted her friends hand away.

"Shall I play you a lullaby?" Lea teased.

River made a rude hand gesture at him, forgetting Max – who happened to be her boss while she was done here – was still there.

"Rock-a-bye, River, on the tree – HEY!"

She had used her foot to pull the plug on his charging computer. "Shut up," she mumbled.

"You killed my laptop!" he fumed.

Suddenly, pillows came flying at him from all direction, and he fell off the bed. Five _very_ tired and pissed off teens shouted, "QUIET!" in unison.

Oddly enough, it was wonderfully peaceful from that moment on.

---

**WOO! I finished it! And it only took one afternoon. Damn, my typing just gets faster! :P just ignore the typos xD their not there! It's all in your mind. Like colour, which doesn't actually exist. (it's different wave lengths of energy stuff…my physics smarts elude me at this moment in time.)**

**Oki doki, so from Monday I won't be able to write anything, but I can start on next Saturday when I'm not drowning in paper. Or pencils I steal from the uni stands. (the pencils are mine! MWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!)**

**I duno…Inferno??? Or whatever its called. Or maybe get to know our lovable dog first???**

**Oh, that reminds me. I think my explosion of OCs has confused people. Miley and Lea are twins, with a younger brother who's joined the team, and River is the person who sits there and does…stuff. I'm aiming for more of a friend to friend relationship between her and Kevin, after she gets it through his head that she's there to help and not piss him off. Blargh. If I was in on the production of the show (-cries- which I'm NOT. Damnit!) I'd make Gwen beat Kevin over the head with a cricket bat until he came to his sense. A cricket bat I hear you ask??? Cause I'm British and I said so! even though I don't like the sport… (the ashes…so BORING!)**

**Imma rambling again. Darn it.**

**Please, let me know your thoughts, drop me a review, or a message, or whatever. I'll need to sit on some ideas while I take notes in class and stuff (war poetry's so depressing…) OOOH! Before I forget, remember that dancing girl Sally??? She'll make a reappearance soon (evil grin) and I bet you can't guess why! :P**

**xxx**


	6. Comfort

**AN: yey! I managed to get something done! xD lol it was a manic week. And there are about a million and one college courses I want to take, and I can't make up my mind! :S also, we had a lecturer on criminal psychology in children come in and give a talk about what she does. It was really interesting, and she dragged up a case that's been in the news about these two kids who were ten years old when they murdered a toddler. Sure, I was like 'THEY BELONG IN PRISON, THE PSYCHOS!' but then the lecturer gave a list of details on each of the kids, as to why they acted that way (after going through reasons for children becoming delinquents) and after that, I actually felt really sorry for them. Things like depressed, single mothers, crap parenting, LOADS of siblings, and general mental scarring. I was like o.O OMFG! Aww poor Kevin! :'( I thought I could bring this new learning into my story, since it all made sense to me.**

**But I digress. I need to shut up now xD**

**Enjoy! :P**

_**Comfort**_

Cari was at her wits end.

Kevin had locked himself in his room and had refused to come out for a week now, and she couldn't persuade him to emerge.

The worst of it was, she didn't know what had happened. Kevin wouldn't say, and Gwen had nearly broken down in tears when she came over the other day. In the end, one of the new kids came with Steph to take her home, some dark haired boy on a motorbike and many facial pierceings.

It came as a surprise to Cari when a knock came from the door, Cain went to answer it, and returned to the sitting room with a blonde woman she had never met before, wearing a bandana and a soft, pale blue loose shirt over a plain tank top and three-quarter length jeans.

Cain said nothing, preferring to sit and turn up to volume on the TV.

"Hello," the woman said pleasantly. "I'm sorry to come unannounced like this,"

Cari accepted her offered hand and shook, feeling dazed.

"I'm Dr Collins," she continued.

"Cari Sheridan." She didn't look like any doctor Cari had ever seen.

"I don't mean to intrude," she went on.

"No, that's fine. Would you like a drink?" Cari offered.

"No thank you," she smiled. "I've been posted here with the Plumbers," she began.

Cain's ears pricked up, and he muted the television to look up at Dr Collins instead. "You're with that lot, are you?" he said stiffly.

Cari looked at him despondently.

"Yes," the woman nodded.

"So what do you do?" he said suspiciously.

She seemed to take no offence from his rude behaviour. "I mostly look at case studies and analyse them in detail. I've worked on some cases myself in the past with juvenile criminals, and at the moment I'm working towards being a counsellor."

"What qualifications do you have?" Cain demanded.

"A couple of psychology degrees," she waved it away vaguely, like it wasn't important.

"Tell me."

Her eyebrow arched ever so slightly upwards at his persistence. "Criminal Psychology of Portsmouth University and The University of Victoria, and I'm about to start a home course in Counselling and Juvenile Therapy. I also did a crash course in Extraterrestrial Biology from Sectors 32 to 83." She threw the last one in to staunch the next verbal attack from Cain. "And Paeleobiology and Evolution." She added as an afterthought, as though it had only just occurred to her she had taken the course.

"Interesting," Cari mused, trying to cover up her husband's discourteous manner.

"I'm here because of Kevin," Dr Collins went on.

Cari felt her face fall. "He hasn't spoken to us for days. I don't know what's wrong."

"Well," the woman leant her elbows against her knees and grimaced. "I hate being the bearer of bad news, but his friends are so concerned for him, and I said I would come and talk to you. Max Tennyson's in charge, but he's been caught up explaining to the powers that be why Earth was being attacked last week and," she shook her head. "It's a right mess."

Cain was about to unmute the TV, but Cari switched it off instead. He gave her a hard look, which she returned. She was quite sick of his attitude since Kevin had come home, but she had no idea how to cope with the two of them hating each other like this.

"Okay," Dr Collins went on. "Long story short, the boys were messing with some tech,"

"Boys?" Cain asked sarcastically.

"Kevin and his friend Ben Tennyson," she clarified. "They were trying to even the odds for their fight against some alien that wanted to fight Ben. Sadly, that sort of backfired, and-"

"What happened?" Cari asked desperately. What could have made Kevin become so morose, when he had been happier than she had ever known him two weeks ago?

Dr Collins' expression was full of understanding as she spoke. "The machine they were using overloaded, and was going to explode. Ben's omnitrix was stuck, and Kevin went back to save him. There was an energy feedback pulse, which caused Kevin's genetic make up to mutate." She paused before continuing. "I'm still trying to work out the why's and how's of it, but I think I've got the gist of it. I don't mean to pry, but…Kevin's biological father, was he part alien?"

Cari nodded, not trusting her voice.

Dr Collins nodded herself, looking thoughtful. "That proves a part of my theory. Is Kevin here now?"

"Downstairs."

"Do you mind if I talk to him?"

"Good luck," Cain snorted derisively.

"He hasn't come out for days. I'm so worried about him," Cari fretted.

Dr Collins didn't seem as fazed as she should be. "I think I might be able to help."

"You?" Cain said scathingly. "What can a psychologist do? It's not even a science,"

"Oh, I know that," she said conversationally. "Developmental Psychology is basically common sense with a few big words tacked onto certain concepts. I'm quite good at connecting with kids; I've been on a few studies before, so I know the ins and outs of how different people react to situations. I'm sure there's _something_ I can do to help."

"Your funeral," Cain muttered, getting up and sweeping dramatically from the room…and tripping over Crystal's Hello Kitty pencil case.

Cari felt the urge to laugh, and saw Dr Collins lips twitch with the same desire.

"Do you mind if I…?" she asked, pointing at the door.

"No, no, no. Of course not." Cari showed her into the hallway and to the stairs. "And don't mind him," she added, glaring at the kitchen door. She was going to let Cain have it once the Doctor was not listening.

She seemed to understand that this was a private matter, and smiled reassuringly. "I'll see what I can do," she promised, and descended to the basement.

---

River took a deep breath before knocking on Kevin's bedroom door.

His mother was distraught, that much was obvious. And his stepfather was as bad as Gwen had described, and then some. She had seen no sign of Kevin's little sister Crystal so far.

She rapped her knuckles against the wooden door for a second time and waited.

After counting to twenty in her head, and with no response, River tried again.

"Kevin?"

"Go away," came the immediate response.

River resisted the urge to tut out loud; it was like dealing with her second youngest brother. If the worst Kevin would do was throw a pillow at her and yell and scream, she could handle whatever abuse he hurled at her. Though he didn't seem the sulking type, so she doubted it would be far different from her screaming brother.

"Kevin, will you just hear me out?" she asked.

There was a pause.

"_Fine_," he snapped.

"Without a wooden door between us?" she pressed. Then, when he refused to answer, "I like being able to look at the person I'm talking to,"

Something clicked, like a bolt being drawn back, and River pushed the door open slowly. The scene before her reminded her of a badly scripted Count Dracula's lair; dark, blinds closed, gloomy atmosphere, negative energy hanging so thick you could probably cut it with a knife.

"What do you want?" Kevin snapped, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at her.

"I'm here by vote to talk to your mother, and voluntarily to check on you."

His jaw was set stubbornly, an expression she had seen Steph wear many times before in the past. River almost smiled, but she knew that would piss him off. Instead, she settled for going to the small window over the bed and pulling up the blind.

"What do you want?" he repeated.

"To check on you. Like I just said." River didn't go for the 'staying calm' façade. It annoyed her when people did it to her, so she refrained from using it on other people.

"Yeah, and I'm fine. So now you can go," he fell into the wheelie chair by the desk and glared at the blank monitor.

River sank onto the end of the bed and waited for him to speak. He was upset, River could see that, and she knew his friends were too. She would go at his own pace, and let him get there without being pushed into it.

Finally, Kevin spun round to look at her, scowling.

"That expression is really unbecoming of you, you know," she told him.

Kevin snarled, standing up so quickly the chair nearly toppled over. "What is your problem?"

"Kevin," she didn't get any further than that.

Kevin started yelling, venting his frustration and vocalising all his unspoken sentiments about what had happened.

River listened, and said nothing, waiting for the flood of emotion to subside. It was a good ten minutes before he dropped onto the bed beside her, breathing heavily, face in his hands.

She reached for her denim bag that she carried everywhere with her, and took out a wrapped packet of Taylor's homemade fudge. "Finished?" she asked soothingly.

Kevin nodded numbly.

"Feeling any better?"

"Yeah, actually," he sounded bemused by the concept.

"Here," she handed him a square of the sugary concoction. "It'll make you feel even better,"

He raised an eyebrow at her before eating it in one bite.

"Hey! That's good quality junk food, you need to _chew_ it to appreciate the taste." She took another square. "Let's try this again," she handed it to him.

Kevin made a show of chewing before he swallowed.

"That's better," she smiled, taking a square for herself. "Now then,"

"I just shouted at you," he blurted out. "Aren't you mad at me?"

River shrugged. "Not particularly. You've been festering in here for a week now without any outside contact. You needed to get that off your chest."

He stared at her in amazement.

"I'm not angry," she insisted. "Some people vent their frustration through art, like painting and stuff. You and I are the type of people that express it through the medium of screaming."

A ghost of a smile flitted across his face, before his gaze became as stony as the minerals that composed it. "So?"

"Well, now that cloud's floated on by," might as well get down to it while he was less likely to snap. "I've had Gwen, Steph, Ben, and Mikey having a collective spack attack on your behalf. They're all worried about you,"

His expression became pained when she said Gwen's name, and he looked at the floor. "God…"

"Hey," River put her hands on his shoulders. "No one's blaming anyone else, except Ben, who's blaming himself. A lot. Actually, it's kinda irritating. But still."

"If he's so sorry, why hasn't he come to say so?" Kevin demanded.

"Because, in his own words, you would remove his intestines and knit them into a wall hanging." Ben had been beating himself up until Steph had kicked him hard in the shins; while they argued about who had the right to kick whom, River had sat with Gwen to discuss what would be best for Kevin. Lea had given her a nice little theory and solution, which she had duly listened to and then discarded. With teenagers, River preferred to wing it: rehearsing a conversation never worked because it was artificial, and teenagers were unpredictable enough when they weren't upset.

"Listen," she waved the minor details away. "The main thing is, they are worried sick about you, and they want to help,"

"How?" he snapped.

She looked at him levelly. "Well, stop you from moping for a start. You can't hide away in here forever," she looked up at the window. "Also, cutting off your sun light supply is a bad idea. You need Vitamin D."

He scowled. "Look at me!" he demanded.

River exaggerated the movements of her eyes up and down, taking his form in. "Yeah, what about it?"

"You expect me to go out like this?" he queried, annoyed, but no long angry.

"Well," River reached for her bag again. "_I_ don't particularly care. You'll always be Mr Cynical to me, no matter what you look like, and I know the others don't care either, but the general public is not known for it's tolerance." She found what she was looking for. The ID Mask Lea had procured for her was a bit dusty, and she wished she had stopped to clean it up a bit before she gave it to Kevin. "Lea found this, and I thought, maybe you would like to keep it until we can figure out what happened when the energy feedback happened."

Kevin looked like someone had punched him in the gut; he had the same bewildered look of a person caught off guard.

Slowly, he took the ID Mask from her, and stared at it in silence.

"Steph's having a DVD tomorrow night, and she asked me to invite you."

"Yeah," he turned the Mask over in his hands. "I'll call her," he went to reach for his phone.

"Well," River clapped her hands together and stood up. "I've forced my presence on you for too long, and you're probably sick of me now, so I'll leave you to it."

When she got no reaction, River went to the door to let herself out.

"River,"

She paused on the threshold, and found he was looking her in the eye. Considering he had avoided her direct gaze until now, she felt gratified that he was feeling confident enough to face her directly. It pained her to see him, and the other as well, troubled like this. Teenaged years were for messing around and having fun, not having a nervous breakdown or a midlife crisis.

"Thanks," he mumbled, after much deliberation.

Daring to push the boundaries, River held one arm out and said, "Would it be inappropriate to ask if you wanted a hug?"

Kevin balked, naturally. "I don't do hugs," he said flatly.

River shrugged. "To each his own. Or her own. Do excuse my non-PC way of thinking."

He raised an eyebrow at her, and she laughed.

"Ignore me. I'm rambling. I do that a lot."

He shrugged in response.

"See you at Steph's," she said over her shoulder, leaving the room.

Once on the ground floor, Cari came out of the kitchen, looking frantic. River smiled and gave her the thumbs up.

"I think you'll be seeing more of Kevin now."

She was slightly surprised when Cari gave her a hug. "Oh, thank you!"

"No problem," River smiled. "It's my job. Plus, I was quite concerned about him myself." Cari offered tea and coffee, but River had to refuse. "I'd love to, but I've got to help with the paper work." She grimaced. "Someone's got to do it, and I feel guilty leaving my crew to do it all," Lea had sworn to hunt her down like the bitch she was if she wasn't back to help by two o'clock.

---

Gwen was trying to focus on her book, but she just couldn't.

Mikey had managed to distract Ben by teaching how to skateboard, and Ben was failing miserably.

Michelle had pushed them all out of the house, insisting they needed the fresh air, and the other's had risen to the challenge. Mikey was all but kicking Ben off the ledge onto the ramp, and dramatically proclaiming how he so did suck at this.

Steph was sitting with her father, playing a Phoenix card game, and swearing at each other in his native tongue. She was still upset that Kevin hadn't called her or anything, even when River said he had told her he would. There was something about the way her shoulders were set as she studied her hand and deliberated her next move. Ian yawned widely.

"While I still have the energy…" he goaded.

"Go stick your head in a pig." Was her comeback.

Gwen was about to put her book away and go home, when Mikey rose to the top of the ramp, and teetered there for a moment before going down again, then grinding back up and coming to a halt.

"Is this a Camaro I see before me?"

Gwen frowned at him, then turned to look over her shoulder when his face split into a grin and he started waving. She followed his gaze, and saw Kevin walking across the grass to the skate park. He looked like he had before the accident, but River had told Gwen about the ID Mask, so she knew.

But he was there, walking towards them, and she found herself on her feet running to meet him. And then she was in his arms, holding him close, breathing in his scent.

His arms wrapped around her waist, and he buried his nose in her hair.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

Gwen pulled back to look at him, but he avoided her gaze. She cupped his face in her hand, feeling where the ID Mask lay against his skin, silently begging him to look her in the eyes. "I don't blame you for anything." She told him truthfully.

His expression was tortured, but she pulled him close again and hugged him tightly, trying to convey without words she was there for him. Kevin laid his cheek against her skin in the crook of her neck, wrapping his arms around her waist.

He felt warm in her arms, though the rough fabric of his shirt had an unreal quality to it, and his arms felt hard and solid.

The moment was ruined when a pair of overly warm hands grabbed her shoulders and pushed her out of the way. Steph pulled Kevin into an embrace, saying nothing, which was unusual for her. He returned the hug, likewise remaining silent.

She pulled away and held him at arms length, searching his face. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he managed a small smile, giving her the thumbs up.

Steph's face split into a grin and she punched his arm. She shook her hand, wincing, before massaging her knuckles. "Glad to hear it."

Ben came over, battered up from Mikey's skateboarding lesson. "Hey Kevin," he said wearily.

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you?"

"Mikey," Ben growled.

Mikey himself bounded over, skateboard in hand. "Heye," he alone acted like nothing had changed.

"Hello," Ian said levelly, putting a hand on Kevin's shoulder. "Are you feeling better."

He nodded. "A bit,"

"Enough for tonight?" Mikey asked enthusiastically.

"Please say yes!" Steph begged. "I've had to put up with these two all week! It's _so_ not fair!"

"As you can see, Steph has been pining for you." Ian said patronisingly, putting an arm around his daughter's shoulders.

"You will come, won't you?" she asked tentatively.

"Sure, why not?" Kevin said.

Gwen felt his arm snake its way around her waist and pull her close. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his side, closing her eyes in content.

As long as he was willing to let her help, she would be there for him. And, as she looked up at the faces around them, she knew they would stand by him too, no matter what.

---

That evening, everyone congregated at the Smith-Tanner residence, and Kevin mentally prepared himself for the madness that would ensue. He was driving his family there, since the adults were going to spend the evening socialising, Crystal and Steph's younger siblings would be doing…something, while he and the other's would be getting up to no good.

Earlier that day Mikey had bullied him into skateboarding, and he and Ben had stalked off in disgust after the fifth and final backbreaking fall. Mikey gave them up for a lost cause, and started bugging Steph ad Gwen instead.

Kevin quite liked Mikey, even if he did get on his nerves; he had a knack of steering the conversation clear from any upsetting topics, and smoothed over any tiffs they had with each other. He was also a shameless flirt; he put Kevin to shame. Still, just as River had said before, Mikey was completely harmless.

Kevin pulled up on the grass next to Steph's house, and got out. His mother held Crystal's hand as they walked to the door, and Cain skulked behind them. Kevin rapped on the door, and Steph's stepbrother Tom answered.

"Come in, come in," he waved them over the threshold. "Long time no see, Kevin," he smiled. "Steph's upstairs, plotting."

Kevin left his mother to make polite conversation with Michelle, Gerald, and Ian. He went upstairs, and nearly tripped over Steph's little brother Kev.

"Hey Kevin!" he crowed enthusiastically, hugging one of his legs before skipping off the to stairs.

Kevin rolled his eyes and went to the circular stairs that led to the attic. There, Steph was on the floor setting up the Game Cube and choosing some multiplayer games while Miley poured over the CD collection. Lea was sitting on the sofa, flicking through an ICT magazine, looking bored. Mel was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey!" Steph called cheerfully over her shoulder, holding up three discs. "What d'you reckon? Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, or Sonic?"

"I dunno, you pick," he said impatiently, sitting down next to her.

"I can't make up my mind!" she whined, looking from one disc to the next and back.

"Close your eyes and pick." Lea said in a bored voice. "Where the hell is Riv?" he demanded of his sister.

"On her way. You guys like Taylor Swift, right?"

"Miley!" Steph whined. "Get some decent music, for crying out loud! What happened to those rock CDs you used to have?"

"Left them at home," she sniffed in distain. "There's more to life than mindless jamming."

"Did I hear someone say mindless jamming?" River came into the room with her beige backpack in hand, and a hopeful expression on her face.

"Riv!" Lea got up and rushed to her. "Where have you been? I've been dying of boredom!" he picked her up and spun her around a few times before putting her back onto her unsteady feet.

"Argh, dizzy!" she complained, stumbling to one side.

"What'cha got there?" Steph asked, getting up and stealing her bag. She gasped when she saw the music books within. "I love you!" River nearly fell over from the excited hug she was given.

"You need to get Dylan's guitar, though," River remaindered her.

"On it!" she bounced down the stairs.

"Phew!" River dramatically wiped her brow. "I've got Cliff's of Dover, Lea,"

He clapped his hands together. "_Ex_cellent!"

"And fudge," she held out a small paper bag, which Lea stole with great gusto. "Fair enough," she shrugged, dumping her bag. "Hey Kevin," she waved before coming over and sorting through the mess Steph had left behind. "Hmm…I feel like a mindless brawl." She said, popping Smash Brother's into the console. "How you feeling?" she asked kindly.

"Better," Kevin nodded, gratefully.

"Here," she slipped him another bag of fudge with a whisper. "Lea gets very territorial over his food."

"Thanks," Kevin whispered back, pocketing it.

"Found it!" Steph bounded back into the room, followed by a very placid and calm Mel.

"River," Miley dragged her friend away from the other two and started debating about music.

Kevin only half listened to Steph prattle on and argue with Lea, and listened instead to the girls. He hadn't had much to do with the Simcox twins, and while Lea had been accepting and kind to Kevin, Miley had seemed more remote and withdrawn.

Watching her chat away animatedly with River, she was far from quiet now, though that may have had more to do with the fact that River was such an engaging person to speak to (so said Gwen, therefore it had to be true).

"What about this?" River held up a cut CD, and Miley looked at the slip of paper inside the jewel case.

"Hey! This is the cut mix Dean made for my eighteenth!" she grinned at River. "Let's have this one!"

"And," River added, reaching for another unnamed disc, "this one. You know, for the boys. All they want do to these days is listen to rock music,"

Steph heard the last bit, and started head banging; gold, red, feathers and beads flying in every direction. Kevin laughed at her, and she looked up innocently.

"You know you're actually loosening your brain from your spinal cord every time you do that?" River said conversationally.

"Oh well," Steph was unconcerned. "Where's Dyl? He said he was gonna bring his guitar up!"

"Not 'oh well'!" River grabbed her arm and pulled her down before she could escape. "You need those brain cells!"

"You should know," Lea teased from the sofa.

"Yup," she tapped her forehead. "If I sit very still, especially when we have a sleep over like this, and everything's quiet, and I can hear them dying."

"I wonder how that works when you have no brain in the first place," Steph smiled sweetly. Or rather grinned, if a grin can appear sweet. It was more of a smirk as River turned baleful eyes to Kevin.

"I don't know why I put up with kind of abuse. It's not my fault,"

Lea flopped down beside them and hugged her. "It's all right, Riv. That nasty bird brain won't hurt you anymore,"

"Thing of evil," she narrowed her eyes at Steph over his shoulder.

"Did someone order a guitar?" Dylan announced from the stair well.

"I did!"

"Here," he came in, dumping it in front of River, and swanned out again.

"Okay, fine. Sod off down stairs! You're not wanted here anyway!" she called after him, reaching for the case. "Hey, where's the amp?"

"I'll get it," Steph got up to go fetch it.

Mel wordlessly appeared, handed a cardboard box to River, and disappeared just was quietly.

"It's creepy when she does that," Kevin shivered.

"Get her to read your tariff cards," River said, taking the electric guitar from its case and taking the lead from the front pocket. "_That_ is creepy."

"You can do it yourself, you know." Mel reminded her.

"Yeah, but I can't tell what it means in the long run." River argued back.

"All in good time," Lea said, affecting an air of mystery.

River held the guitar the way a sniper holds their gun, on the shoulder. She pretended to search from Lea, shielding her eyes against the dim light of the room, and swinging the guitar around so it hit him in the back of the head.

"Oh, Lyndon!" she fussed over him. "I didn't see you there!

He muttered something inaudible and obscene in her general direction.

"What's your actual name?" Kevin asked him, confused. He had heard Lea being called by several names, and he was unsure what it really was.

"Lyndon-Lea Simcox." He pulled a face. "It means Apple Tree. My parent's idea of a joke,"

River laughed good-naturedly, and he glared at her. "What?" she asked innocently.

"Whatever," he smirked as she placed the guitar on her knee. "Isabella,"

"Oooh, you learned how to rhyme while I was in Canada!" she flung her arms around him. "I'm so proud a'you!"

He pushed her away and stood up. "I'm outta here,"

"Sure thing, Apple-Bee!" she said to his back.

"You're a bitch," Kevin told her once Lea had left the room.

"I'm so glad you noticed," she struck a pose. "I've been working at it for years."

"I can tell," he nodded.

Steph returned with the amplifier and plugged it in. River settled onto one of the many beanbags and started playing at random. Kevin had never heard such lilting lullaby type music coming from an electric guitar, but he soon forgot that once Ben and Mikey arrived with Gwen in tow.

Dylan joined the rabble after the food had been served, and they all descended to the sofa and beanbags to watch a movie. Miley and Gwen wanted to watch Twilight, and so did River until Mikey and Ben begged her to watch Monty Python.

"Hell yeah, I will!" she enthused. "You seen it before?" she asked Kevin.

"I've seen the Camelot one," he admitted.

"Okay," Steph said, flipping through the DVD boxes. "We got _And Now For Something Completely Different_, erm…_Quest for The Holy Grail_, _Meaning of Life_…Oooh! And we've got _Life of Brian_!"

"He's not the Messiah…" River began.

"He's a very naughty boy!" the other's chimed in.

Mikey stood up, and pointed at the wall with a flourish, saying, "Now, _piss_ off!"

"You know those aren't the actual words," Miley reminded him as he sat down.

"Don't care," he grinned. "Yo, hostess!" he threw a cushion at Steph.

"Ouch!" she fell over Ben and landed on the floor. "What the hell, Mikey?"

"How's about some popcorn?"

"You ate, like," River checked her watch. "Less than ten minutes ago!"

"Your watch is fast," Lea pointed out.

"Huh?" she checked it against her phone. "Oh. Okay then, eleven and a half minutes." She looked up. "You eat too much you'll explode, and I'm _not_ clearing the mess up."

"On my own head be it," he said dramatically, and went downstairs.

"Show off," Miley muttered.

"Have some fudge," River pressed it into her hands. "Come on people," she said as it was passed around. "Spread the lurve,"

"And other icky diseases," Steph nodded, devouring more than her fair share.

River whispered in Kevin's ear, "You still got the bag I gave you?"

"Yup,"

"Good man," she patted his shoulder.

"Some whispering going on, I hear?" Steph said suspiciously.

"Yeah," River gestured with her hand. "Kevin and I were playing Chinese Whispers."

"Of _course_ you were."

"Yeah! Can't I play Chinese Whispers with my kids?"

"You're not my mom," Kevin poked her in the ribs.

River laughed. "No, but while I'm acting psychoanalysist for this sector, you're my kids, yeah?"

"I belong to no one!" Mikey came back, bearing popcorn.

"So, Life of Brian?" Lea asked, taking the disc from its box.

The film was funny enough in itself, but with so many people and sugar supplies loafing around, it was even funnier. The twins, Steph, Mikey and River knew the whole script off by heart, and acted along with the people on the screen. Interestingly, Kevin saw Mel watching her three friends who were all laughing, and she smiled indulgently, the same way a mother would over her children.

After a rousing round of _Always Look on the Bright Side of Life_, in which Mikey stood up and did a little dance for them all, River and Steph kicked him out of the way and set up Smash Brothers.

There weren't enough controllers, so they had to take turns, but it was fun nonetheless. Miley, Mel and Gwen didn't play, preferring to sit on the edges of the fight instead while Kevin and Ben fought against River and Steph, with Dylan, Mikey and Lea yelling encouragements and trying to steal a controller off someone.

In the final round the four played together, first Steph and the Ben were bumped off, and Kevin had one life left compared to River's two lives.

Her Adult Link was knocking the stuffing out of Kevin's Roy, until he grabbed the hammer and beat her over the horizon with it.

River swore, and began formulating a new battle plan. Kevin jumped up onto a platform to avoid her, and narrowly missed her well-aimed attack – which dropped her over the edge.

"No, no, _no_!" she mashed the controls, trying to get back up onto the platform, and failed as Roy on the screen pulled his taunt at her.

"Ha!" Kevin laughed in her face.

She slapped her knee and whined, "So unfair! That was _not_ meant to happen! You _bastard_!" she complained.

"Loser!" he jeered.

She tried to hit him over the head with her controller. "Hey, how old are you?"

"Sixteen,"

"Twenty-six. I'm older than you," she jabbed him in the chest. "So shut up!"

"Shut off, Kevin," Lea chipped in.

River doubled over with laughter. "Oh yeah, I forgot that!"

When the hilarity died down, she took up the guitar again, and started taking requests. Her knowledge of rock music amazed Kevin, and she even played a couple of Relient K songs when he asked. Her best piece was Cliffs of Dover, and then his respect for her as a musician plummeted when she started playing Love Story.

Still, he was treated to Gwen's beautiful voice as she sang along with River's accompaniment; he wasn't going to complain.

When Gerald finally came up and requested that they go to bed, Dylan slid away so he didn't have to help tidy up, and Steph went after him like an avenging angel to tear his throat out.

"Isn't it your job to keep us in line?" Ben pointed out when Ian walked in with Steph thrown over his shoulder and dumped her on Mel's bed.

"You're all tough enough and ugly enough to look after yourselves. Dylan doth anger the phoenix, and divine justice was visited upon him." She shrugged, a smile twitching on her lips. "I rest my case,"

Steph had sat up and started swearing at her father's retreating back.

"Come on, bed time," River nicked her outstretched leg.

It took quite a bit of organising to get everyone settled of the night. Mel's bed was low, but very wide, so she, Miley and River managed to cram onto it, leaving the floor space for the others. Steph curled up on her bunk bed, and Lea and Mikey fazed into their wolf forms, which intrigued Kevin. Lea was bigger and more heavily built, and covered in a shaggy coat of caramel coloured fur; Mikey was smaller, slighter, and was less hairy. He sidled over to Ben by the sea of cushions, and collapsed unceremoniously on top of him; lying on his back with his legs stuck up in the air. It was rather comical; he looked like a black inkblot on the floor.

Ben shouted out. "Get off me! I can't breathe!"

Lea bowled his younger brother over, and nipped his tail, making him yelp and crawl into the corner next to the sofa. Miley threw them a dirty look before going to brush her teeth.

"Now, let's actually try and sleep now." River said sagely. "Because you guys know what happens when I don't get my sleep, and I don't want to bitch slap anyone just yet." She straightened her shirt out. "So shut up and good night," Lea and Mikey curled up on the fringes of the cushion pool, and Ben fell face first into it.

Kevin lay down on the sofa, and Gwen crawled into his arms sleepily. He pulled a blanket over them both, and kissed her forehead. He was so grateful to her, but he couldn't bring himself to put it into words, not just yet. She just lay on his chest, propped up on her elbows, looking into his eyes, stroking his cheek. He closed his eyes, trying to steady himself: even if he felt better than he had done a couple of days ago, he still felt emotionally unstable.

"Kevin," she breathed, her nose bumping against his.

He opened his eyes to look into hers, the familiar emerald green comforting.

"I love you," she murmured. "Don't ever doubt that."

Try as he might, Kevin couldn't stop the tear that slid down his cheek at her words.

Gwen kissed him, before snuggling down to sleep in his arms. He concentrated on the sound of her breathing, and the rise and fall of her chest against him, stroking her hair, which she had taken down from its ponytail. Gwen's smell was soothing, comforting, something he could cling to; punctuated by her strawberry shampoo.

Before Kevin could fall asleep, a headache began to build up, so he removed his ID Mask to alleviate the tension. Gwen stirred briefly, but didn't wake up.

He fell into a slightly less uneasy sleep than he the night before, and for once he wasn't visited by nightmares.

---

Cari slipped up to the attic before Gerald drove them home to check on Kevin. It had been a wonderful evening, but she just wanted to make sure he was okay before they left.

In a large alcove to her right, there was a wide, low mattress set in a frame on the floor, where Dr Collins, or River as she had insisted on being called, along with Mel and another girl, were all fast asleep in separate sleeping bags. Ahead, in the middle of the room, two over sized dogs were curled up side by side next to the boy Cari recognised as Ben. Steph's foot was hanging over the ladder of the bunk bed, so she assumed that that was where she was sleeping.

On the sofa, was Kevin, with Gwen wedged between him and the back of the sofa, cuddled up together. He wasn't wearing River's ID Mask, so Cari could see the change in his face that he had tried so hard to hide from her.

His face was covered in a layer of rock and some greenish-blue crystalline substance, and one of the arms wrapped around Gwen glinted metallically in the dim light cast from the stairwell.

Cari would have felt more distressed if it weren't for the almost peaceful expression on her son's face. It was comforting to know that he had his friends for support; she had no idea how to help him, and she was worried that he might slip back to the criminal he used to be.

Gwen shifted, turning over in the cramped space to lay on her other side, apparently still asleep. Kevin shifted his own position, curving himself around her, snuggled up in the limited room, also fast asleep.

Cari smiled softly at him before turning to go back downstairs.

There was still hope for him yet.

---

**oh yeah, do excuse the lame title, I couldn't think of anything better xD**

**so yeah :P I think I rambled a bit there, but I was trying to focus on how Kevin's not going to be all bitter and twisted and stuff, and Ben's not going to be a gay douche bag to everyone, and how River sits there and confuses people and eats fudge :P which is what I do on a regular basis :D**

**Also, I had the whole of Friday afternoon off so I sat around in the common room with some friends and we rewrote the phonetic alphabet xD I was actually wetting myself with laughter, it was so hilarious. I may incorporate that into a later chapter, but I'm worried I might have to change the rating because its not for delicate ears! Unless I modify it again…which takes the fun out :P**

**So! Yes? No? Meh? Lemme know ;) and have a great week!**

**xxx**


	7. You can't mistake my biology

**AN: Howdy, howdy, howdy folks! :P**

**Okay, okay! you got me, personality wise, River is me xD no one could be that insane but me ;) aspects like being hit by a truck aren't me, but I know someone who was, and they have recovered remarkably well from it. Also, I know **_**another**_** person who fell on some rocks and sliced their back open. The scars are quite creepy :S I just though I'd lob it all together and see what came out xD and River appeared in my mind. It's easy to write from her point of view, since she has my opinions of the world… rofl**

**Also, **imsoboredidk, **you can have a massive chocolate chip cookie and a smoothie of your choice ;) I purposefully chose the names of Kevin's family to start with 'C' so he would be the odd one out. I was trying to be subtle about it xD I'm glad someone noticed, that's what I was aiming for :P you=awesomeness incarnate!**

_**You can't mistake my biology**_

"For God's sake!" Steph snapped.

"Calm down," River said wearily. "You start spitting blood, I'll be held accountable, and I don't fancy clearing the mess up."

"How can you spit blood?" Kevin asked.

They were playing River's version of Uno at the skate park on a bench while Mikey practised his moves. In River's game, the rules were still the same, but at the end of each round everyone counted up the numbers on their cards (such as the ones labelled five, nine, and so on. The black cards were worth twenty a piece) and added them to the scorecard Gwen was keeping on the back of an old timetable that had been loafing around at the bottom of her bag. The first person to gain one hundred and one points dropped out of the running, and the next person was booted out when they reached two hundred and one, and so on. Ben had dropped out first, and turned his attention to Mikey, determined to get the better of the hired skateboard, and struck out to perform at least an 'ollie' by the end of the day.

Steph was one point away from dropping out, since the round that had just ended had gained her five more points. Gwen had already lost, and was watching the boys skateboarding, probably bored by the card game.

Kevin was intensely interested in what River was saying, and only realised how much he was pestering her when Gwen slapped his shoulder and told him to leave her alone. River was good-natured enough to not hold it against him, and she seemed to rather enjoy sharing her wisdom.

Now he was looking at her, silently begging to have his question answered.

"Well, Steph here," she gestured, gathering up the cards and handing them to Kevin, whose turn it was to shuffle. "Get's her knickers in a twist on a regular basis. That puts stress on the body, and prolonged stress can lead to physiological changes in the body, and I know for a fact that Avis are prone to ulcers, and the last time Steph had one, muggings here," she pointed at herself, "had to clean it up."

"I said I was sorry…" Steph mumbled over her smoothie cup.

Kevin dealt them all seven cards before taking one – a blue zero – and placing the rest face down beside it.

"I don't get it," he really did, sort of…but he wanted River to explain in greater detail.

"She'll rot your brain," Mikey said, coming over to snatch a drink. "River is the fountain of useless knowledge."

He turned to leave with Ben, but River cut in. "You should be drinking more than that in this heat," she scolded.

"Spare me a lecture," Mikey said with bravado.

River raised an eyebrow at him as he did a cartwheel onto the tarmac and landed, perfectly balanced, on his skateboard, rolling forward with the momentum. "My, we are showing off today." She mused.

Steph nudged her. "Your move,"

She checked her hand, before putting down a blue three.

"Plus, I'm not the _only_ one round here who spits blood," Steph added with a smirk.

"Okay, that was _one_ netball match, years ago. Well done for remembering." River dismissed this fact with a wave of her hand. "Back to more pressing matters, your turn,"

"Tell me," Kevin pressed, annoyed that Mikey and Steph had interrupted his education.

"Well," River paused to gather her memory together while Kevin placed a blue plus two down for Steph. "The way you cope with a stressful situation starts with appraisal. Basically," she poked him in the forehead. "This part of your brain up here decides whether you can cope with the situation. Like…say none of you had any special powers to defend yourselves with and you were in a room and a lion walked in."

Kevin laughed. "What?"

"Well, if you couldn't defend yourself against a lion, like most people, your brain would take a moment to assess the situation. If it decides that you can't cope, then a message is sent to the pituitary gland…" she took his head in her hands and frowned thoughtfully. "Hmm…around about here," she pointed. "That releases hormones into your body, like adrenaline, which heightens the body's sense and lets you react quickly, which could save your life."

"Yeah, so where does the ulcer come in?" Kevin pestered her.

Gwen rolled her eyes at him, and he ignored her for once, even when she tossed her gorgeous red hair over her shoulder and bent over another book. He was so tempted to just sit and stare at her all day, but River's useless knowledge was just as interesting as the tones in Gwen's hair. Almost…

"Well, they say stress increases your chances of CHD,"

"Say wha…?"

"Coronary Heart Disease. What happens is when adrenaline gets into the blood system, it increases heart rate, breathing rate, all that sort of thing. If you don't do something active to work it out of your system, it sits in the blood stream circulating the body. If you prolong it, the high blood pressure puts strain on the veins, arteries and capillaries. They weaken, don't function as well as they should: ergo when a blood clot comes along you're basically guaranteed to have a heart attack." River concluded.

"Cool," Kevin was in awe of her.

"Not really," Steph deliberated before putting down a plus four card. "It's all simple stuff, really."

"Biology's fascinating," River mused, dropping a plus four of her own onto the pile.

Kevin smirked, placing another on top of that. Steph smiled sweetly as she laid another one down. "I'm thinking red."

River licked the tips of her fingers and picked up twelve cards. "I will pay you back for that," she promised him cheerfully.

"Biology?" Kevin pressed.

He didn't even know why it mattered so much to him, but he wanted River to keep on explaining about life and the universe in general. She never seemed to get tired of elucidating on matters that bore little to no relevance to what they were doing.

"You know, how the body works and stuff. It's enthralling,"

"Yeah, yeah," Steph dismissed, dealing a plus two.

River dealt another plus two, and so did Kevin. Steph smirked, pulling out another one; River placed another, and again, so did Kevin. Steph's eyes narrowed as she collected her cards. "Sorry mate," River put down another one. "Might as well get rid of them while I'm at it."

"Biology?"

"Geez, stop begging. It's pathetic," Steph snapped, looking over her hand.

"If Kevin's wants a science lesson, he can have one. Just because you're having one of your moments doesn't mean you can spoil his day," River said levelly. "Okay, biology. Where do you to start?"

"What do _you_ like about it?"

"Well, there's evolution for a start. I'm a dinosaur nut," she added, reversing the order of players with a green card. "Things like…" she mused for a moment as Kevin gave her a plus four. "Bugger," she frowned, taking her penalty. "I'm plotting your demise as we speak," she checked her hand before continuing. "The heart," she smiled, pleased with herself.

No one spoke for a moment.

"I don't get it," he admitted.

"The heart," River jabbed herself in the chest. "You know, that thing that makes that glug-glug noise in your ribcage and pushes blood around your body."

"What's so amazing about it? All it does is sit there and beat." What was so mind numbingly awesome about that?

"Gwen, can I borrow that a sec?" River asked, pointing at the paper and pen.

She surrendered it to her, and River placed her cards face down on the bench. Steph leant over for a better look, suddenly intrigued. "I'm fascinated to know how much A level biology you remember."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," River replied, sketching out a rough block like structure divided into four parts with lines. "I may go off on a tangent and explain how some random alien's five chambered heart works in outer space or something. This is strictly Homo sapien, okay? Basically, these chambers," she pointed at the two top part, "contract and force the blood into these ones," she motioned at the bottom two. "Then _these_ two contract, and pushes it into the arteries here, and out into the rest of the body."

"What's so great about that?" Kevin complained.

"Ah!" she tapped the side of her nose knowingly. "This is the interesting bit. Up here," she drew a little circle at the top. "This is the Sino-atrial node," she wrote _SAN_ next to it. "It fires a signal across these chambers here, which makes the muscle contract. That takes about…oh, something like point-three of a second? So the blood comes down here, and the valves close. There's a delay before this," she drew another circle and labelled it _AVN_, "the atrial-ventricle node fires another signal after a time delay, so that's when the valves close up and the blood's in this chamber. This signal makes _these_ chambers contract, and the blood is pushed to the arteries and to the rest of the body. The whole process takes about point-eight of a second or so."

Kevin stared at the diagram in amazement. All that intricacy linked together to form a process with which life could not exist without, and took less than a second to be carried out.

Just one thing bugged him.

"If those nodes fires signals,"

"They're actually electrical signals," Steph began, but River cut her off.

"Details, details. In the body, a signal's a signal. Actually, sometimes it's called an impulse, but that's neither here nor there."

"No," Kevin insisted. "If that fires a signal, how come the chambers don't all go at the same time?"

"Cause here," she scribbled between the two halves, "there's a layer of nonconductive tissue the stops the signal from triggering the wrong part of the heart contracting. The thing that fascinates me more than the rest is that this," she drew a circle around the whole thing, "evolved purely by chance, and it works beautifully to our advantage."

That was quite humbling.

"Wow," Kevin looked from one node to the other. "I never thought about it before."

"It is quite awesome, when you think about it," River gave the paper back to Gwen for score keeping. "But most people don't stop to think."

"I didn't come all the way over the Atlantic to get a badly explained biology lesson." Steph grumbled. "You didn't even say which was the ventricles and the aorta!"

"Well, maybe you'd like to lead the lesson next time and let everyone's minds explode," River retorted.

"Huh?" Gwen looked up.

"_Never_ let Steph teach you about degrees in chemistry." River said darkly. "It's the single most greatest evil visited upon mankind."

"You fail," Steph smirked at her.

"In a most epic fashion." River agreed. "But I've always found living things far more interesting. And dead ones, come to that,"

"Weirdo," Kevin muttered.

"Now Kevin," she chided. "There's nothing wrong in liking Palaeontology and fossils."

"Isn't that called Geoscience now?" Steph asked.

"Whatever," River sniffed disdainfully. "Geo, palaeo, bio, evolutional, it's all the same to me."

They chatted away about more random things, and Kevin learned more than he ever had from his science lessons at school. By the time Steph finally dropped out of the running (after having won three rounds in a row and then losing two, saved only by the fact that all her cards had been zeros) Kevin had a rough idea of how the brain was arranged, and which parts dealt with which processes.

"It makes sense when you think about it," Gwen pointed out as Kevin reeled off a ream cancel cards at a painfully slow pace.

"While we're still young," River snapped. "The suspense is going to kill me."

"Where the truck didn't," Steph slipped in.

"You and that bloody semi!" she shook her head. "Life moves on. Get with the times, geez!"

"I think there's today's paper in the trash over there, want me to get it for you?" Kevin teased.

Steph scowled at him and threw the cards in his face before stalking off the watch Ben and Mikey.

"Okay, Kevin?" River gathered up to cards that had fallen on the ground. "You're not a girl, last time I checked, so you have no excuse to be a bitch. All right? Leave that to the professionals."

"That's being sexist," Kevin pointed out.

"Would you do the honours, Gwen?" she gave the cards to Gwen for shuffling. "Oh, and you're so hard done by, Kevin." She added gravely. "It's not easy having a Y chromosome."

"Especially when I'm surrounded by girl's all day long," he looked at Gwen, and she glowered back.

"Erm…" River made a show of counting on her fingers. "I'm not normally around every day, so that means there are more boys on your team than girls."

"That's discriminating," Gwen pointed out before Kevin could put in a witty remark.

"Well Gwen," River said evenly. "What you have to remember is that most girls don't like going out and getting dirty or fighting aliens."

"They do," Kevin pointed out.

"Yes, but Gwen's a special case because she's one of those people who is awesome at fighting and is a very beautiful young girl,"

Gwen blushed at this, and Kevin couldn't resist adding, "See? It's not just me,"

She elbowed hard in the ribs, forgetting she was probably doing herself more damage.

"And Steph is Steph." River concluded.

"That's it?"

"Yeah! Steph is Steph, therefore she is. She doesn't _need_ a reason."

Steph herself stalked over with Ben and flopped onto the bench. "Mikey's being a…" she used a few choicest curses, some of which Kevin didn't understand, but River seemed to.

"What now? Do I have to threaten to spank you all like toddlers or what? We can be civil to each other for all of about five minutes, and then its killin' time. What's wrong with you people!"

"He's being a douche bag," Ben grumbled.

"Have some fudge," River said, taking some from her bag. "Let me see what he's doing." She got up and went over to where Mikey was showing off his moves to a group of teens who were watching in admiration.

"Score?" Ben asked, taking Steph's smoothie and drinking it.

"Bitch! Get your own!"

"Well on the way to three-fifty." Gwen said, looking at the score sheet.

Kevin watched as River leant against a wall and waited for Mikey to notice her disapproving expression. He was showing off to a group of – surprise, surprise – mainly girls, a few of which Kevin recognised from his school. Half the girls in his art class were swooning over Mikey's skateboarding skills.

Kevin looked away to check the time, before looking up again as everyone laughed. He had missed the action, but he saw the consequences: Mikey was lying, winded, on the tarmac, staring blankly at the sky. River pulled him to his feet, and frog marched him back to the bench, as the spectators drifted away.

"If you break your neck, you mother would _kill_ me," she scolded him like an older sister would. "Fawning over girls like that…honestly, that's the most stupid thing I've seen you do. And I _know_ stupid,"

He sat down rather cheerfully and said to the others, "Sorry I was being evil." He sounded sincere enough, so Ben let it go.

Of course, that would just be too easy for Steph.

She had a go at him, and he duly ignored her in favour of watching Kevin and River play a few more rounds.

While Ben shuffled, and River and Gwen chatted about martial arts, Kevin, Steph and Ben interrogated Mikey about what had just happened.

"Seriously?" Steph said sarcastically, eyebrow disappearing beneath her fringe. "A _girl_?"

"You don't understand," he defended himself. "There's this one girl I met at Mr Smoothies the other day, and she's awesome!"

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you," Steph snapped.

"Which one?" Ben asked.

"She had loads of highlights," Mikey explained. "Like, white, red, and black. Her natural colour must be quite dark."

"And you're crushing on her…_why_?" Steph demanded.

"Woah, woah, woah," Kevin cut in. "What's with you, Steph?"

"Yeah. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were _jealous_!" Ben teased.

"Go hug your floozy," Steph retorted. "Mikey's _my_ Transmorphor Buddy, and no one gets to date him unless I vet them." Her glare dared them to challenge her authority.

"Steph," River said warningly. "Remember what we said about stress,"

"Who cares? No one's good enough for my buddies,"

"Except Gwen?" Kevin asked, pulling her onto his lap, making her squeak in surprise.

"Nah," River teased. "You're not worth the gum under the table."

Kevin looked at her, stunned.

"But you're worth my time," she added, taking some fudge and forcing it into his mouth. "And that's what matters. A very merry unbirthday to you."

"What about Julie!" Ben whined.

"Yeah, she's cool." Steph gave him the thumbs up. "When's she coming home, by the way?"

"Tomorrow," Ben looked ecstatic.

"Awesome!" Steph enthused.

Mikey tried to sneak away from the conversation, but Steph wouldn't let him off so easily.

"Hold it right there," she snarled, grabbing a fistful of material with 'HAMMER TIME!' written on it.

"What? What is your problem? Seriously, Steph. It's got sod all to do with you!"

"River?" Kevin asked in a low voice.

She turned in her seat to give him her undivided attention.

"What's your view on this subject?"

"Well," she deliberated. "Loath though I am to even consider Freud's works, I'd say she's in denial because she doesn't want to be the only one at this table who is not in a relationship."

Steph didn't hear this, and just kept harping on at Mikey.

"Huh?"

"Think about it. You've got Gwen, Ben's got Julie, I've got Taylor up in BC, and Mikey may be chasing some poor girl even as we speak. Which leaves Steph the only one without a significant other."

"You have a boy friend?" Kevin asked stupidly.

"No, he's my pitiful lackey."

Slowly but surely, Kevin was learning which things River said that were to be taken seriously and which to ignore. He assumed she was being sarcastic about this particular subject.

Music started playing from somewhere, momentarily distracting everyone until River took her phone from her pocket. "Do excuse me," she stood up. "Hey, speak of the devil!" she said down the phone. "I was just talking about you."

"Oooooooooh!" Mikey said rather childishly.

River cuffed him round the head as she walked by. "How goeth the hunt?"

"Still?" Mikey asked in amazement.

"Yup," Steph forgot her earlier anger and went to drink from her smoothie cup. "Hey, where'd my drink go?"

Ben chose that exact moment to burp, and she sniffed his breath. "Get you're you own effing smoothie! For God's sake,"

"Still?" Mikey pressed.

"Yes! Still looking for a house in Sooke. The closest one for sale they actually could buy at the moment is on the mainland."

"That _would_ be cheaper, living wise. I mean, it's an island, everying's more expensive." Mikey pointed out.

"Mel said something like Taylor wants to stay close to home. Plus, he and his uncle sell stuff in the harbour in Victoria. Good tourist trap." Steph nodded.

Mikey pulled a face. "Not really a trap…all those shops on Main Street? Sure, those are over priced. But the stall owners in the harbour? They're way nicer. And cheaper."

"Meh," she shrugged.

"Sorry," Mikey was suddenly angry. "But running circles around them like this is a piss take."

"How?" Kevin butted in.

"River's got a low threshold for stress," Mikey said slowly.

"She should practise what she preaches," Steph muttered darkly.

"Well," Mikey pulled a face. "Be fair, she's much more _fragile_ than most people."

"She's got endless energy, if you ask me." Ben shrugged. "I haven't seen her stop once since she got here."

"Yeah, she's so full of chi," Mikey agreed. "But when something hits her, she keels over like a fly. Mentally, she's as strong as an ox. Physically…oh, how to put this nicely?" he thought for a moment. "Her body's put up with a lot of abuse over the years. And no, she doesn't do drugs."

"Yup." Steph stole some more fudge. "Truck's'll do that to you."

"Riv's right," Mikey snapped. Steph looked up innocently. "You're obsessed with trucks."

---

"Steph?" Michelle called from the kitchen.

"Coming!" She yelled back.

"Oh I bet you are," Mikey winked at her.

She launched her fist into his gut, and managed to miss by miles. Cursing, she stalked down the hallway.

"It would be nice to go through just one day without trying to kill each other," River sighed, dumping her rucksack at the bottom of the stairs.

Mikey was then mobbed by Steph's younger siblings, and he good-naturedly picked them up and carried them into the living room.

Gwen floated over to the sofa and sat down with Kevin and Ben until Steph returned. "You guys wanna stay for supper?" she asked.

"Movie?" Ben asked hopefully.

"Sure thing! Go pick one while I help cook."

After much swearing and general punch ups, Mikey skipped downstairs with _Disney's Robin Hood_, leaving Ben bruised and cranky. Kevin had a notebook out and a pen stuck behind his ear, looking very thoughtful, which was quite unusual for him. River helped dish up the meal, and then announced she was going.

"Where?" Steph asked in disbelief.

"Out." River said blankly.

"Out where?"

"To the movies?" she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What about _our_ movie?" Steph whined. "It's Disney!"

"Sorry, sweetheart. But I've had enough of Disney to last me a lifetime after babysitting for Taylor's second cousins." River grimaced. "Maybe some other time? We're going to go see this new film that's come out,"

"We?" Steph asked sarcastically.

"Me, Mel, Miley and Lea? And Tom and Dylan, of course." River returned the sarcastic tone. "Don't wait up," she added in an undertone, walking through the front door.

"Dude, she's got a life that doesn't involve us," Mikey reminded Steph as they settled down to watch the film.

"But…she always has such cool running commentaries!" Steph whined.

"We'll get her to watch a few David Attenborough's with us at a later date," Mikey promised. "C'mon! Disney!"

Gwen smiled to herself, spooning the spaghetti onto her fork. She remembered the first night they had eaten here together after a mission, watching the exact same movie. The only difference was Mikey, sandwiched between Ben and Steph on the floor.

This time round, not only was the impossibility of the balloon gag pointed out, but Mikey reeled off a list of historical facts that were wrong. "King Richard, to my understanding, was a fat bastard who squandered all the kingdom's money on crusading in the Promised Land that the Christians, Jews, and Muslims all believed was their sacred land."

"Oh well," Ben didn't really seem to care.

"Face it," Mikey continued. "The only thing this film has going for it is the gay theme. I mean, what kind of modern day soldier – or soldiers of _any_ time, come to think of it – would wear pink?"

That comment earned a round of laughter, which ended when Erin snapped, "Shut up! We're _trying_ to listen!" This only educed more giggles, although they were muffled by spaghetti.

The highlight of the evening was when Little John was invited to sit down at the prince's left hand, saying, "Thanks, PJ!" with the tail of Sir Hiss waving intensely from side to side underneath the enormous bear. Mikey chose that exact moment to sit up and shout, "Tentacle rape!" and the five of them howled with laughter.

Steph smacked him round the back of the head, tears leaking from her eyes as she tried to breathe properly. Ben went face first into his empty bowl, slamming his fist into the floor, his shoulders shaking from the effort it cost to stay quiet.

Gwen couldn't breathe; she at beside Kevin, arms wrapped around herself, trying force some air into her lungs, and not quite managing. The spontaneity and sheer stupidity of the comment had made her laugh until she could no longer inhale without the air immediately leaving her lungs.

It wasn't until Kevin thumper her on the back that she realised something was lodged in her windpipe. She coughed violently, and then gagged. When she had wiped the moisture from her eyes, she saw a piece of bacon that had been sliced into the spaghetti, covered in a huge blob mucus, swimming in the bottom of her bowl.

Gwen felt her cheeks flush bright red, and looked up anxiously at Kevin. He looked more concerned for her well being than the slime ball she had just coughed up.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," she stopped to clear her sore throat. "Much. Thanks," she smiled weakly.

"Look," Mikey sat up and looked at Gwen accusingly. "If you're gonna die, can you do it quietly? We're trying to ruin a movie over here!" he looked from Steph, who had her fist in her mouth to stifle her laughter, to Ben, who was trying to drown himself in the bowl. "That goes for you too, Benny Boy,"

Mikey poked him hard in the ribs, and Ben hit the ceiling, yelling in surprise.

"Hey!" Steph snapped, pouncing on him. "No one gets to beat him up but me and Kevin!"

A three way wrestling match began, and the looks from the three children by the TV screen made Gwen want to laugh again, but her throat hurt. Instead, she and Kevin sidestepped around the three, taking the bowls to the kitchen.

"Oh," Michelle looked surprised to see them. "Thank you, that's very kind."

Gwen helped load them into the dishwasher before going back to the living room. Ben and Steph were dodging the snapping jaws of an inky black wolf with bi-coloured eyes and a piercing in its brow. Ignoring them, Kevin flopped onto the couch, and Gwen curled up beside him.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked her when the other three took their dispute outside at Gerald's orders.

"Yeah, sure. Why?" her words were almost drowned out by a howl from the garden through the open door.

"Just that…green mucus like that isn't exactly healthy looking."

Gwen felt the heat return to her face, and buried it in his chest, utterly humiliated.

"Sorry!" he blurted out, trying to make her look up again, and failing. "I only mentioned it cause sometimes when I get sick, I cough up stuff like that too."

She looked up at his last remark, her best sarcastic expression in place. "Okay, _eww_."

He smiled sheepishly. "Remember I told you about disturbing biology facts I learned in the Null Void?"

"Oh," her eyes widened.

"Yeah," he grimaced.

"Ssh!" Erin and Ella said in unison.

Kevin pulled her onto his lap, resting his chin against her shoulder.

"Hmm," Gwen mused to herself.

"Mmm?" he asked vaguely.

"Tasty," she commented.

That brought another round of giggles, which earned them more glares from the kids, but Gwen didn't care. River's deliberate absentmindedness had rubbed off on them all today, the only difference being that she could say such things and keep a straight face, whereas Gwen broke down into another hysterical fit.

They were still giggling like morons when Ben, Steph and Mikey came back inside, covered in garden debris, and looking at them with suspicion. "Seriously, what the hell?"

"Yeah," Mikey chipped in. "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?"

"W…T…oh," Ben seemed to have caught the joke. "That's not very funny,"

He got another punch for that.

Finally, throw out time came around, and Steph kicked Ben out to get into the truck so she could drop him off home. Mikey went upstairs to email someone, and Kevin offered to walk Gwen home.

"Aren't you going home too?" she asked, letting him lead her to the sidewalk and then down the street.

"Nope." He said evasively.

"Why?" she asked flatly.

"Well," he didn't quite meet her eye.

"My mom's great aunt in Washington died a month ago, and she's been left some money and stuff, so she has to go to the funeral and listen to the will being read out, and…" he failed to find any other word apart from, "stuff…"

"So…you're not going home?"

"No. Crystal's gone with her." He said shortly.

Gwen hugged him. She had met his stepfather a few times in the past, and she could see why he resented him so much. After River had been voted to be duty bad news bearer, she had come back and Gwen had asked her opinion of the man.

River had deliberated for a long time over her drinks canister before saying; "I'm surprised Kevin's even remotely normal with that moron around the house. No wonder he's Mr Cynical all the time…"

It was nice to know that Gwen wasn't just being paranoid on Kevin's behalf. She valued River's judgment, since Lea insisted she was Little Miss Clairvoyance and saw at least as much as Mel did. If River could see from such a brief, one off encounter what sort of person Cain Sheridan was, Gwen would gladly believe it as well. When approached by Steph on the same subject, River had responded with, "Yup. Another douche bag."

Steph had taken a swig of smoothie, saying, "Thank you and goodnight."

Kevin offered no further explanation, so Gwen assumed he would be staying with Steph. It was the obvious place for him to go; Ben had no extra space at his place, and if she tried to let him stay in her house, her father would object violently. Steph's mother didn't mind them staying the night as long as the house was still standing the next morning, and she had no reason to fear jealousy from Steph. The only sparks that flew in their relationship was when they were attacking each other with metal objects, such as wrenches and screwdrivers.

They reached her street, and Kevin walked her to the door before saying goodnight.

"You _sure_ you're alright?" he asked, stroking her cheek. "You look pale."

Gwen shrugged. "I'll be fine,"

Maybe he bought it. He gave her a small smile, and kissed her forehead.

Then again, maybe he hadn't bought it at all…he normally kissed her on the lips. He was probably avoiding whatever bug he seemed to think she had

Gwen let herself in and waved goodbye before shutting the door.

"Hello Gwen," he mother called from the kitchen. "Have you eaten?"

"Yeah," she croaked, stopping to clutch her throat. It hurt quite a bit more than it had when they had been eating.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" her mother came into the hallway to have a look. "Gwen, you look a bit peaky. Do you feel ill?"

"I'm fine," she insisted.

Lily placed a hand over her forehead. "You're burning up. Have a drink and go to bed, you have school tomorrow."

Gwen grumbled to herself, getting a large pint glass, filling it from the filter in the refrigerator, and drinking it all at once. "Happy?" she said sarcastically, stalking upstairs. She paused when she heard her father start to speak.

"Where does she get that attitude from?"

"Not _my_ side of the family. _That's _for sure."

"I think it's that Kevin she hangs out with all the time." Said her father tersely.

"Steph's a likely culprit too," Lily pointed out sagely.

Gwen stalked into her bedroom, cursing her dad under her breath. Checking her reflection, she saw what Kevin and her mom had been fussing over; she looked way too pale to be considered healthy.

"Damnit," she snarled, yanking a brush through her hair.

---

Kevin let himself into the house, and heard someone playing the piano. He knew Gerald had an old, battered piano that was hidden in a corner in the living room by the sliding back door, but he had never heard it being used before.

Sticking his head round the door, Kevin saw Mikey sitting at the stool, reading music out of a notebook.

_His_ notebook.

"Hey!" he steamrollered over and snatched it from his hands.

"Gah!" Mikey jumped. "Dude, you scared the hell outta me!"

"What are you doing?" Kevin demanded, shoving the music into his back pocket. God forbid he found out what it was for…

"Just curious," Mikey shrugged. "It looked like a good tune to play, but some of the notes don't really gel together. You wrote that?"

He nodded mechanically.

"Cool," Mikey gave him a cheerful smile and a thumbs up. "It's quite good, just needs some fine tuning. What instrument?"

"Guitar."

"Ah. Me no play guitar. You should ask River, she's amazing at it. Got a diploma and everything, so she's allowed to teach."

Kevin muttered, "Yeah, yeah," no really interested at all.

He was getting to like River, quite a bit actually. But he didn't want her messing with his personal affairs.

Kevin found it hard to trust anyone off the ball like that; it had taken him ages to get to where he was now with Ben and Steph, and Gwen too. He was still unsure of Mikey, but as the older boy turned to the piano keys and started playing a colourful version of Yankee Doodle, Kevin had a feeling that he would drop the subject.

Steph came back, and they traipsed upstairs to bed, after Michelle chased them away from the living room.

In his absence, the others had returned from the movies, and were already settling in for the night. It was comfortable in the attic; Steph was in her bunk, Mel and Miley on the low-slung bed (River had gone back to the farm), the Simcox boys curled up as wolves on the floor, and Kevin lying on the sofa.

He had to remove the ID Mask to stave off the developing headache, and curled up under the blanket Steph had given to him.

It felt weird being here without Gwen; he was used to curling up with her on this sofa. At least Ben wasn't here either, snoring his head off.

With that last thought, Kevin slid into an uneasy sleep.

Some hours later, he was awoken to the sound of Mikey singing loudly in the shower. Groaning, Kevin pulled himself up and yawned widely.

"You can't mistake my biology!" Mikey trilled.

"Kevin," Steph snapped from her bunk. "Come here, I need to borrow your arm a moment.

"The way that we talk, the way that we walk…"

"Sup?" he yawned again, feeling his urge to destroy the world rising slowly in time with the song Mikey was singing.

"I want to saw his lips off but I don't have anything to do it with. Give me your arm,"

"Now Steph," River chided from the doorway, making Kevin jump. "He's a human being like you and me. Not your person Swiss Army knife.

---

Well, that could have been better, I suppose xD

**I managed to write this up today because I was off sick with a throat infection and I've lost my voice, and no one wants my icky ikcy germs, so I stayed home. And I thought, nuts to war poetry! This is more interesting :P**

**Well, you know the drill, reviews plz ;) I was trying to slowly break in the idea of River getting through Kevin's thick skull, but I seem to be failing at that…a though gradually getting there would be more convincing than a sudden 'hey I know, I'll be River's best friend! WOO!!!!' cause that just ain't the Kevin we know and love xD**

**Oh, and by the way, if there are any specific episodes you'd like me to cover (or not as the case maybe, I know some episodes I wasn't impressed with…) then please let me know. or, if you have a bright idea for an adventure to embark on, by all means let me know! (I has run out of ideaz :S )**

**And so, I leave you with this message:**

**So long, and thanks for all the fish.**

**(Virtual hugs and fish'n'chips for anyone who knows where that quote comes from! :P)**

**xxx**


	8. Gossip

**AN: Argh…I think I caught Gwen's cold :( I've gone through two boxes of tissues in a week. That ain't good…anyways, on the plus side, I'm up-to-date with my paper work! :D and day time TV SUCKS. It's official, because I said so.**

**This is….minorly short in comparison to the other chapters I have written so far; it was nearly eight thousand words long, but I decided to split it into two, and this seemed like a good place to split. I still have some proof reading to do before the next one's ready for airing ;) it'll be up…some time in the next seven days! (if I don't die first…)**

**Enjoy!**

_**Gossip**_

Kevin sat by the window in the art room, staring at the beech tree on the other side of the parking lot. Their teacher, the ever-awesome Mrs Brown, was off sick, so they had a substitute in who had no idea how to keep control of the class. First thing Monday was one of the worst lessons to teach, followed by last thing Friday. Monday, because the students were like zombies, and Friday, because the kids were like animals clambering to get out of their cages.

The students were drawing on the white board, playing games on the computer in the corner, looking at porn on their laptops in secluded corners, and generally messing around. A group of girls in the corner, most of which Kevin had seen the day before at the skate park, were sitting on stools, tables, and the counter by the sink, gossiping about the weekend.

No one was doing any work.

Not even Kevin.

He was mulling over what Mikey had said last night about the music in his note pad last night. Since the accident, he had been neglecting it, but slowly he was starting to get back round to it. And since their real art teacher wasn't here, he wasn't going to bother working. Only she had keys to the cupboard, and his batik was in there; there were way too many witnesses around for him to kick the door in…

So he used his badge like an electric guitar; he kept it under the table with his earphones in (so many ipods and MP3s were out, no one noticed), and it projected a grid that resembled a chord tab. When he pressed a fret, it played the note, and when he pressed at the top of the line it played the open string. He and Steph had devised the program, and they were quite pleased with how it had turned out.

Still, as Kevin played over what he had scrawled down, he could see what Mikey had been on about; it needed serious revision…

He was still reluctant to go to River for help, and clung obstinately to the belief he could do it by himself. He liked her, and was intrigued by what she had to say, but he was far too stubborn and proud to admit, even to himself, that he needed help.

He may have to steal Gwen's poetry books for inspiration for the words, but still. It was the thought that counted, right?

"Oh my God!" one of the girls in the corner enthused. "Did you see that guy at the skate park yesterday?"

They all giggled loudly.

"He was so fit," someone added.

Kevin tried to ignore them and focus on his music, but their voices seemed to go higher and higher, up through several octaves, until it was the only noise in the room.

_Girls!_ He thought to himself, gritting his teeth. He'd rather have guys in the corner by the chalkboard scrape their nails down it then listen to this. Yeesh! Julie and Gwen could get on his nerves, but not to this degree! They at least knew when to quit.

"Hey, did you see the guys with him?" a blonde girl asked.

"What, Kevin?"

He recognised Sally's voice, but didn't look up.

"Yeah,"

More giggles.

Kevin could feel the force of their gaze, and ignored them.

"And that other guy…oh, what's his name? Barney or something…"

Kevin couldn't hide the smirk at this remark.

"No, no, no. That was Ben Tennyson. You know? He plays soccer, dates Julie Yamamoto, and Cash threw a smoothie all over him and then got told by Ben, and there was that fight outside Mr Smoothies-"

"Oh yeah! I remember,"

"Who were those girls, anyway?" she someone said in a reproachful tone.

"The anorexic one is Stephenie Smith. She's supposed to be really smart and too cool for school," someone supplied with a disdainful air.

Kevin gritted his teeth. Sure, Steph was abnormally thin, but she wasn't anorexic. Had they _seen_ the amount of chips she could eat in one sitting?

"What about the other one, the hippy person with that bandana?"

"Oh, just some friend of theirs." Came the offhand reply. "I heard she's an under cover police officer trying to get in with the druggie groups in town."

Kevin nearly laughed out loud. The thought of Scatterbrain River in a police officer uniform with a gun in her hand was absurd. She had said herself she wouldn't join the force on the grounds that a) physically her body would be unable to cope with the strain b) those trousers made her bum look big and c) she just couldn't be arsed.

"The red head is Ben's cousin, don't know her name. I heard she'd dating Kevin." A girl continued.

Was that an air of jealousy in her tone?

"I don't know why. He's such a grouch," one of them muttered.

"Dark and mysterious," said another dreamily.

Kevin stifled a laugh. Gwen would certainly have something to say about that if she was here. Dark? Check. Mysterious? Nope. She had him figured down to a T. Damn that girl…

"Meh," someone else chipped in. "He's always frowning these days."

"Oooooooh!" the others taunted.

"Someone's got a crush on Levin!" they teased.

"Do not!"

"Seriously, though," Sally's voice sounded offhandedly. "He always looks so…_serious_."

"Yeah," someone sniggered. "Cause Sally likes her men all dark and tortured and– ah!" she squeaked.

"Shut up,"

"My lady doth protest too much, methinks,"

"I said can it, Tabetha!" she snarled.

Ah, yes. Tabetha Kingston. The bitch of their year group. The one who had sounded so contemptuous earlier.

A bit like that Layla person at Gwen's school.

Kevin turned the volume right up and did his best to ignore them. In the end, he played through a few chords to keep his mind from rotting, and the bell rang to signal the end of the double lesson.

No one was in any hurry to leave, so they lazily packed up and drifted out into the corridor.

Monday was the worst day for Kevin at school. Art was the only good lesson he had, followed by double math, double physics, and rounded off with Religious Studies. It was days like these that he felt like ditching.

Still, he sat it out, writing out the answers in math without the equations, taking notes from the textbook in physics, and skipping RS. The music suite was unlocked and empty, so he sat down with a battered old school guitar and tried out his music again. It still sounded off…maybe a different key? He wasn't so good at changing them…

At lunch, he had heard the others in his class talk about ditching too, so made him felt even better about it.

When the bell went at the end of the day, Kevin scarpered before the head of department found him. Things were slightly less tense at home since River had visited him, but with his mother out of the state, the last thing he needed was for Cain to get a phone call from Mr Barnes.

The head of the music department was in his late forties, with a bad comb over, and was sleazier than some of the people Kevin had done business with in the Null Void. There was something very off with that guy, and Kevin wanted to stay the hell away from him. It was to be his unlucky day; Mr Barnes was entering the building as Kevin headed towards the exit.

The man ignored him, but the hair on the back of Kevin's neck stood up. He suppressed a shiver as he made a break for the doors; he didn't normally react this way to his teachers, but that Barnes person…even under the ID Mask, he felt his skin crawl.

Outside, in the early summer sunshine, Kevin felt much better, breathing in the scent from the flowerbeds by the school office. He went to his locker, grabbed his junk, and then went to his car. Ten minutes later, he pulled up at Mr Smoothies, and joined Steph at one of the plastic tables. She grinned at him over the alien tech she was tinkering with.

"Sup!"

"Where're the others?" Kevin asked, pulling out an English essay he had to finish for tomorrow.

"Ben's getting some smoothies, then he's ditching us to go to the movies with Julie. Mikey's…somewhere," she glared at the nearby motorbike with its orange paint job. "And Gwen's calling in sick today."

Kevin wasn't surprised. He wondered how her father would react if he dropped by and paid a visit. Ben came back with four smoothies and passed them around.

"Hey Kevin," he said cheerfully.

"What are you going to see again?" Steph asked, picking up a screwdriver.

"Some chick flick," Ben shrugged.

Kevin snorted under his breath.

"Nice knowing you," Steph said absently, hitting the machine with the wrong end of the screwdriver. "Oh for God's sake! Work, damn you!"

Kevin pulled the tech towards him and picked up a fine set of tweezers.

"Fine," Steph muttered, her chin sinking so low it was level with the tabletop. "Be all neat and sophisticated."

"Not every problem can be fixed with smashing." Kevin said patronisingly.

Ben choked on his smoothie. "Who are you and what have you done with Kevin?" he demanded once his windpipe was clear.

"I said not every problem. But most can," he smirked up at Ben.

"That's our Kevin!" Steph punched his arm and winced. "Ouch!" she rubbed her sore knuckles and glared at him. "Jesus, Kevin."

"Self inflicted," Ben concluded.

"Do you have _any_ idea what's in those things, anyway?" Steph snapped at him.

Ben raised an eyebrow as she downed a whole cup in one go. "Hark whose talking."

Steph belched for good measure.

Both boys sighed.

"Hey, where did Mikey go?" Ben asked suddenly.

Kevin looked up, and saw him leaning casually at the wall by the counter, apparently sweet-talking a group of girls as they bought their drinks.

"I'll give you three guesses," Steph muttered sarcastically.

"Wonder who he's talking to," Ben said, cluelessly.

Kevin recognised the art girls, and suppressed a sigh. "They're from my school."

"All of them?" Ben looked astounded.

"Yup," Kevin picked up his untouched smoothie. "I don't recognise those two, though." He pointed at a girl with red hair, who had black and white highlights that framed her face, and one beside her with short, incredibly spiky bright purple hair. He had never seen anyone with hair like that before.

He couldn't see Sally's dark clothes form, or her jet-black hair anywhere. Odd, he'd heard her talking in Art today. Where was she? He shrugged, turning back to the tech. She was probably drawing or dancing or something…

"Life goes on," Steph shrugged, sipping another smoothie. "Mikey's quite a lady's man. All the girls at Havant swooned over him, never pressed for a date to a party."

"Isn't that immoral?" Ben asked, turning back to his own drink. "You know, toying with people's hearts and stuff?"

"Nah. He's harmless, got a lot of friends who happen to be girls." She frowned. "He's the kind of guy everyone loves for just being himself. Bouncy, hyper…like an older, darker haired version of you," she said to Ben. "But more outgoing and better on a skateboard."

Kevin laughed. "Ben? Skateboard? I'd like to see that,"

Ben glared at him.

"Meh," Steph pulled a face. "Mikey's really nice. He's always honest with people. Actually, too honest. He's had loads of girls take advantage of that before."

"What, like in bed?" Ben blurted out.

Steph gave him a sarcastic look. "I mean he'd go out and buy stuff like food and they'd leech it off him. He's way too generous."

"And hyper," Kevin put in.

"That too," Steph agreed.

Kevin watched the girls migrate away from the counter, including the luminescent purple head, leaving the girl with tiger hair still talking to Mikey. It actually made him feel better knowing Mikey was chasing after another girl; he had been feeling a little jealous at how easily Gwen had been getting on with him since they'd met.

River and Steph both said he meant no harm, but still…Kevin had been protective of Gwen, ever since Darkstar reared his ugly head.

They talked about their day: Kevin moaned about his boring lessons, Ben chatted about the approaching evening he would spend with Julie, and Steph told them about her home course in biology, and her cousin Ashley who had called her earlier.

"I'm going to spend another week on Re'ath." She grinned. "As much as I missed Earth while I was gone, I'd love to spend more time there,"

"You don't love us," Ben whined.

"Nope," Steph reached for her wallet. "Fish and chips anyone?"

"Nah," Ben waved his hand vaguely. "We're going out to eat."

"Where?"

"I dunno. Somewhere cheesy. KFC, maybe?"

"Yuck!" Steph pretended to vomit. "I read somewhere that they used to grind up chicken bones and beaks and put it into their chicken nuggets! Then Health and Safety dropped on them like a tone of bricks."

"Don't they only use chicken breast?" Kevin asked aloud. "Or was the McDonalds?"

"Both, I think," Ben said.

"Yeah, _sure_," she said scathingly. "They _say_ that. And even if it's true, that's just _wrong_."

"How?" Ben asked.

"Well, if they only take the breast, what happens to the rest of the chicken? That's wasteful."

"What about chicken drumsticks?" Kevin pointed out.

"Oh yeah," Steph pondered this idea for a bit. "I forgot about that…but still! What about the rest of the carcass? There's a lot of meat besides the breast and legs,"

"Good thing Mikey's not here," Ben commented. "We'd be getting a lot of sexual innuendo from him."

"Meh," Steph didn't care. "My mom makes stock out of the leftovers from chicken, duck, guinea foul…" then she realised what she had just said, and her hands flew to her mouth.

"Did you just say _mom_?" Ben asked.

Steph glared at him.

"She did!" Kevin pointed at her flushed face with indignation.

"She's losing her accent!" They said in unison.

Steph swore at them in every language she knew, and Kevin sat back, smirking superiorly at her. Ben choked on his smoothie trying not to laugh.

"My accent is still English!" she snarled. "See? I still say _dollar_ like this! English!" she snapped.

"Calm down," Ben aid serenely. "Here! Have a smoothie,"

She glowered at them both over the cup, stabbing at the table with her screwdriver.

Mikey was still talking to the girl with stripy hair when Julie drew up on her moped.

"Hey Julie!" Steph waved.

Ben jumped up and ran to her, practically knocking her off her feet in his haste. "Julie! I missed you!"

Kevin ignored them as best he could, but he could still hear those mushy lovey-dovey sounds.

Steph filled her lungs and yelled, "GET A ROOM!"

They left not long after, much to Kevin and Steph's relief.

"Kevin?" she said.

"Yeah, Steph?" he tried to twist a bolt out of place so he could reach the circuit board.

"If I ever make goo-goo eyes at someone like that, or those disgusting noises, shoot me."

"I'll make a note of it," he promised, filing the request away in the drawer at the back of his mind that he never revisited.

"Oh for the love of…!" she went off on one of her swearing tangents, glaring at Mikey. "How could he ignore us!" she whined.

In the end, they didn't wait for him to finish flirting. Steph had to baby-sit while Mel was out with her friends, and she had a few books to read for her biology degree. And Kevin had other plans, which he wouldn't tell her about.

She shrugged when he told her to but out. "Fair enough. I'll see you later." She waved cheerfully over her shoulder before getting into her jeep.

Kevin waved at Mikey, who grinned back, but made no move to leave.

He wasn't going home to spend the evening with Cain, and he wasn't going back to the Smith-Tanner's just yet either; he could think of a much better way to spend his time.

But first, he had to go to the florists.

---

Gwen coughed into her tissue, and groaned before throwing it in the bin.

She felt like hell, and a quick glance in the mirror confirmed that she looked like hell too.

She had gone through a whole box of tissues today, and was well into the second one.

When someone knocked on the door, she curled up under the blankets and moaned, "Go away,"

"Gwen, sweetie," said her mother from the hallway. "Someone's here to see you,"

"Who is it?"

"Miley Simcox?"

That was enough to rouse her curiosity. Gwen wrapped herself up in her dressing gown and opened the door.

"She's downstairs,"

Gwen slumped her way to the ground floor, and saw Miley sitting on the couch with a satchel on her lap. "Hey," she smiled, standing up. She was a bit taller than Gwen, so she had to look up. "A little birdie told me you weren't feeling well,"

Gwen tried to say yes, but ended up coughing instead.

"I've brought you something," she reached for her bag. "Come into the kitchen,"

She got a glass from the draining board and took a bottle from the bag, along with a small plastic measuring cup.

"What is that?" Gwen asked.

"Disgusting," Miley pulled a face. "I'm the medical personnel assigned to your area. I find Chinese Herbal Remedies work better than conventional modern medicines." She shook the bottle up, and poured out a small amount into the measuring cup, before tipping it into the glass and filling the cup twice and emptying it into the glass. "Here," she handed it to Gwen. "It's a cold and flu mix."

Gwen sniffed it, and recoiled from the smell.

"I suggest you pinch your nose and down it in one." Miley advised.

Gwen did as she said, and wretched over the sink.

"I takes some getting used to," she said sympathetically, giving her a smoothie. "Here, this will take the taste away."

Gwen gulped it down gladly. "Thank you," she rasped.

"It's icky, I know, but its better than the crap doctors give you. All they can do is give you an aspirin and tell you to drink orange juice. This stuff," she tapped the bottle cap, "helps your immune system to fight the virus. It's more effective than the stuff you get at the chemists. Plus the side effects on the body aren't as bad, if any at all."

Gwen managed a smile. "Thanks, Miley."

"No problem," she smiled back. "Take ten mils of this stuff up to five times a day, and you should be better by Wednesday. Don't forget to drink plenty of liquids, dehydration headaches are _not_ fun."

Miley gave her the bottle and the measuring cup. "River told me you were coming down with something. She heard it from Steph," she added in answer to Gwen's questioning look. "She would have dropped by to see you, but she's feeling a bit under the weather too, and she comes down with illness easily. No offence," she added quickly, "but she has a recurring virus that we've been trying to get out of her system, and it sets off easily."

"That's okay," Gwen insisted.

"Well," Miley checked her watch. "I'd better get going. Lea wanted to go see some dumb action movie tonight." She looked bored by the idea.

Gwen laughed, and coughed again loudly.

"It won't be so bad," Miley smiled. "Mel's coming too."

Gwen waved her off at the door, and went back upstairs to lie down.

She was dozing when there came a knock her door again.

"What now?" she groaned, sitting up.

Her mother opened the door. "You have another visitor," she said with a knowing smile.

She stood back, and Kevin came into the room, looking quite sheepish.

"Kevin?" Gwen croaked, sitting up fully.

"Hey Gwen," he said, looking uncomfortably over his shoulder.

"I'll be downstairs," said her mom, and closed the door behind her.

Kevin relaxed somewhat, and came further into the room. Gwen patted the duvet at her feet, and he sat down.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Not really," she sniffed, reaching for another tissue. "Miley was here a while ago. She gave me some medicine,"

He nodded. "Here," he produced something from a bag he had been keeping behind his back.

Gwen gasped. It was a hyacinth in a terracotta coloured pot; the petals a beautiful pink shot with purple. "Kevin, it's beautiful!" she took it from him, and inhaled the scent.

"I thought a pot plant would be better than a bouquet," he said, embarrassed again. "Cause it would last longer…"

She smiled at him. "I'd kiss you, but I don't want to make you sick…"

"Err…Gwen?" he removed his ID Mask. "I can't get sick anymore. I'm made of stone, remember?" his expression became hard.

She ignored that, and leant over to kiss his cheek. "That was really sweet of you." she stroked his cheek.

Kevin looked even more embarrassed, but flattered at the same time. "I'd better get going. I have homework to do,"

Gwen snorted into her tissue. "You? Homework?"

He looked insulted. "Yeah, I work!"

"Well, I won't keep you," she said flippantly.

He laughed, in spite of himself, and kissed her forehead. "Get well soon,"

"Lily? Gwen?" came a voice form downstairs.

Her father must have come back form the shops.

Kevin hastily grabbed his ID Mask and put it on.

"I'll see you round," he said, scuttling to the door, hoping to evade Frank Tennyson in his bib to escape.

Gwen sighed, and shook her head, smiling to herself. She waited for the rev of Kevin's engine from outside before she went down stairs to get a saucer. Her father gave her a suspicious look, and she grandly ignored him while she fetched a wide, shallow bowl from the cupboards and went upstairs again.

She filled the bowl with enough water to cover the bottom, and took it back to her room. She placed the pot in the bowl, and then set it on her windowsill, before standing back to admire it.

Sure, Kevin wasn't always good with words, and he had a tendency to clam up when asked the wrong question, and he wasn't as romantic as most of the guys out there, but his unspoken concern and the thought he put into simple gestures like this made these moments all the more sweeter.

Gwen switched on her computer and decided to go on Facebook for a bit. Some people from her school were online, so she chatted to them for a bit; Ben, Julie, Mel, Miley and Lea weren't, but River and Steph were, and then Mikey flitted on briefly before updating his status to _**Mikey Simcox**__ is bored. TO THE MIKEMOBILE!_

A few sarcastic comments were made on this post, most of which were Steph and River pitching in remarks about how lame and cheesy the line was. River wrote, '_don't diss batman! it was more awesome than any of the crap your generation watch!_' Steph mainly took the piss in general

When Gwen finally went off to go back to bed, River was '_watching ocean oasis and talking to my boys xxx miss you housies!_' Steph was, '_feels like a huge portion of fish'n'chips_' and finally, Kevin was '_bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored………._'

She sat reading for a bit, and feel asleep with the book in her hand.

---

**Title=LAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But still, :P**

**We will be picking up the pace, just as soon as my brain kicks into gear.**

**I would just like to say, with regards to Vendetta, if you don't want a spoiler, don't read the next line:**

_**Is it just my or did Devin Levin remind you of professor paradox???**_

_**.**_

**meh, might just be me xD also, in light of what happened in that episode (sadly I didn't see the ending of it so I don't know what happened in the end) which COMPLETELY contradicts everything I've said in this story about Kevin's dad, should I say screw vendetta and make up my own version or just say screw that and go along with my original plan??? (since this is AU and I can do whatever I want and NO ONE CAN STOP ME!!! MWHAHAHAHA!) I am at a loss. The big question: do I, don't I??? HELP ME! (in case you hadn't noticed above my plea for help) I had a random idea before that maybe Dev was alive somewhere and they would rescue him and stuff, but…curse Man Of Action!**

**Oh! And another thing before I go; anyone who's not from England may not know this, but there's a county in the south called Devon, and Kevin's dad had a vaguely English accent that I couldn't quite pin to a specific region…….is this a coincidence??? I think not! A stab at subtlety, which failed MISERABLY since the moment he opened his mouth and spoke I fell of my chair laughing. Smooth, Ben 10 Alien Force creators, REAL smooth xD**

**Well, I'm gone now. Before I lose the plot (of this story and reality) completely. Adios, mi amigos!**

**xxx **


	9. It Was A Dark And Stormy Night

**AN: wow. I went completely to town on this. Maybe it's TOO long…meh.**

**Oh, and I found out that all these plot holes in the AF series are going to be addressed, and HAVE been addressed throughout the series, we just haven't noticed yet apparently. :/ hmm……….. I'd like to see their explanation for this. And, Devin Levin having an English accent…oh the irony! I actually think that IS a Devonshire accent as well xD it's definitely Southern, I can tell you tat much.**

**Anyways, ON WITH THE SHOW! (thing……you know what I mean!)**

_**It Was A Dark And Stormy Night**_

The days drifted by slowly in the rising summer temperatures, and by Thursday Kevin was about to say _to hell with this!_ and ditch Friday altogether. It was stiflingly hot inside; maintience had brought dehumidifiers to every room, and the windows were all thrown open, but that didn't help one bit. The atmosphere felt sticky and it was like inhaling water instead of air.

The last lesson, double art, with Mrs Brown back, made the whole day worth it just so that Kevin could do something constructive that didn't involve aliens or throwing tools at Steph across the workshop.

Mrs Brown was a rather dumpy woman with stylishly short hair the colour of milk chocolate, and a pair of white-rimmed glasses. She was the kindest teacher Kevin had ever had, and while the rest of the staff complained about his inability to hand in any piece of work, Mrs Brown would sing his praises in the staff room at break and lunch.

This had more to do with the subject than the teacher really, but it was a good combination that worked to his advantage.

So, with the class back to normal and work steadily progressing, Kevin stood at the table by the window where the batik kit had been set up, and slowly dripped the hot wax over the fabric. He wondered to himself as he traced the faint pencil lines he had drawn earlier, thinking he should go back and do some more of his portrait project while he waited for the dyes to become free.

At the moment, he was trying to create a batik of Verdona's flowers to put on a cushion. _Natural Form_ required something that either was currently or had been alive, and just to be evil, Mrs Brown had assigned them all subjects. She claimed that she wanted to see what would happen if she gave three girls and three boys the same subject, to show how people viewed the world differently. Trust Kevin's luck to get flowers…

And this one, the pink and yellow flowers made from energy, strictly speaking weren't alive. But Mrs Brown didn't need to know that.

Once he had finished, Kevin took his frame over to the sink and put it on a shelf to keep out of the way until he could get his hands on the ink dyes. He whiled away the rest of the lesson skimming over his work from the previous semester and started to rip up the unwanted loose pieces of paper that floated around. He kept the photographs as his observational work, and chucked the rest into the cardboard box that was labelled 'RECYCLE'.

A quick flick through the photos, and he sorted them into piles: one's he had already used and finished with, one's that were still in progress, and one's he hadn't got round to using.

There were a few of him and the gang outside Mr Smoothies and at the lake, or in the workshop and at Steph's place, mostly posing and pulling faces. He smiled to himself at the one they had taken two days after the Highbreed invasion, down at the lake. All four of them spread out in a right circle on the grass, with their heads at the centre; Ben's hands were behind his head, smiling in a superior way at the camera dead above him, while Steph was grinning and giving it the thumbs up. Kevin had his arms around Gwen's shoulders, grinning manically at the lens while she was partially turned away from him, eyes closed in silent laughter.

It had been one of the best days of his life.

Kevin was awoken from his musings by the bell, and hastily packed up before leaving to grabbed a few things from his locker. On the way, he went through a few more photos, so he could dump what he didn't need in the locker before he left. Alongside a few mug shots of his friends was his portrait partner Sally Newman. Kevin had to admit, with her fair skin, black hair, and blue, blue eyes; she was quite striking to look at. Still, she couldn't hold a candle to Gwen, although that was just him being biased. Black was a dull, lifeless colour; red was warm and vibrant. At least, that had been one of his lame excuses in the beginning for fawning over her in the first place.

"Hey Kevin," someone said.

He leant around the door to see who it was, and saw Sally's locker door open, with her behind it as she searched for something. "Hi Sally," he said, grabbing his bag and dumping the photos on a shelf.

He slammed his door shut just as she came back into view, and he nearly dropped the books he was holding.

Sally had dyed her hair during the Spring Break; it was now a darkish red, with black and white highlights done at the front so it framed her face. This was the girl Mikey was chasing after? How the hell had he not noticed this change in her hair before? It had even been styled in a different way, feathered and straight. She even had a couple of new piercings, too.

"What?" she asked, stopping to look at his expression.

"Your hair," he said dumbly, pointing. "When did you get that done?"

"In the holidays," she shrugged. "Hadn't you noticed?" She was chewing on some gum.

"No," he felt like an idiot. He had been so wrapped up in his melancholy recently; he hadn't noticed even the most obvious changes around him. "Had a lot on my mind,"

She shrugged in a forgiving sort of way, blowing a bubble, which popped loudly. "Later," she said, spinning on her heel and walking to the doors, a kit bag with training shoes tied to the handles slung over her shoulder.

Kevin followed suit, and got into his car. They had planned on meeting up at Mr Smoothies that afternoon, but the weather report the night before had shown there was a storm brewing, and everyone was advised to stay indoors and not go out tonight.

A glance at the sky was all the confirmation Kevin needed. It was dazzlingly blue directly above, petering out to a white haze to the west. East, however, was another story; dark, black clouds were gathering on the horizon, slowly creeping up and staining the azure sky like an oil slick in the sea.

By the time he had reached Steph's house, the cloud was rapidly eclipsing the sun, and purple bruise like shapes undulated in the pitch like sky. He had to park quite far from the house on the grass, as Steph's jeep, River's truck, Mel's little car, and the twins bikes were all over the driveway and sprawled out on the grass. Kevin grabbed his things and made his way to the front door.

He felt acutely uncomfortable; the air was charged with electricity, practically quivering with explosive energy. A low rumble of thunder reached his ears as he knocked on the door, and Michelle opened it, looking surprised to see him so soon.

"Oh, Kevin!" she exclaimed. "I thought it was Lea and Mikey. Get inside, quickly," she ushered him in and closed the door firmly behind him. "There's a bad storm brewing," she said, shooing him into the kitchen. "Better stay inside tonight."

"Hey!" Steph bounced to the doorway of the kitchen, then saw who it was, and her face fell. "Oh, it's you." she stalked back inside.

"Pay her no mind," Michelle said kindly, before saying in a sterner voice, "Steph,"

"Right now, I hate anyone who's not got my fish and chips." She muttered.

"Hello," River said more cheerfully, leaning against the counter.

"Hi," Kevin dropped his things at the foot of the stairs and joined them.

"Good day?"

"Meh," he shrugged.

River smiled. "I know the feeling. School's just one long hard slog. And then you go to College and it's even worse."

"Heye," Miley said from the stove where she was cooking. "Y'right?"

"Yeah," his eyes swept the room to see who was there, and he saw Gwen by the back door with Ben.

She bounced into his arms the same way Steph bounced to anyone with her favourite meal, and threw her arms around his neck.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Much," she smiled, kissing his cheek.

Ben checked his phone, and started tapping his foot impatiently. "Where is she?" he muttered.

"You'll wear a whole in the floor if you keep doing that," River said conversationally, taking a steaming mug and drinking deeply.

"Wassup?" Kevin asked, leaning against the cupboards with Gwen.

"Julie was supposed to be here ten minutes ago." Ben said, somewhat distressed.

"Maybe the traffic's bad." River suggested. "Or she got held up packing her overnight bag. She'll be here soon," her tone was as normal as ever, but there was a soothing quality to it, which seemed to calm Ben down.

"I just don't want her caught out in the storm, that's all," he explained.

"Mores the point," Miley cut in, flipping eggs over. "Where the hell are my brothers?"

"Around," Steph shrugged, then glowered. "With my chips…"

"The world does not revolve around chips, Steph," River reminded her. "Just a black hole at the centre of the universe." She paused for a moment, frowning. "Or was that just our galaxy? I'll have to ask Lea when he gets back."

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Black hole? You serious?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fairly certain the Milkyway Galaxy pivots on a black hole. That's why we spin through space." She motioned with her hands as she spoke before going back to her drink. "Chocolate anyone? Gwen? Ben?" they nodded in ascent. "Kevin?"

He shook his head.

"Oki doki," she bustled around making drinks while Michelle went to go switch off every appliance that wasn't in use. Steph slouched off to help her and to round up the kids.

"Oooh," Miley frowned at the scene outside the window. "That looks nasty,"

They all congregated around her to see what she was looking at. The sky was quivering with light, and the low rumbles were becoming louder and more consistent.

"I hope Mel, Tom and Gerald get back soon," she murmured.

"Egg's burning," River said without looking.

Miley jumped as the food started to hiss and spit, burning the back of her hand. "Ouch!"

"You worry too much," River said, wiping a cold, wet dishcloth over her friend's hand. "They'll be fine,"

She sounded so sure of this, but Kevin wondered whether she was just trying to keep everyone calm, or if she had actually 'seen' it. The former was the more logical choice.

Miley steadily got more and more jumpy until River steadfastly pushed her from the hob and dished up the meal. "The boys bought two extra large portions of chips and five battered cods for you guys to share," she said as she worked. "Unless you want some of this?"

"We're good," Ben said impatiently.

"Relax," River drawled in a full on Canadian accent. "They'll be through the door before you know it, eh?"

"Says you," Miley snapped, pacing the room.

"Like when?" Kevin challenged River's wisdom.

"Like now," she looked over her shoulder briefly, and there immediately came an almighty banging from the front door, before she turned back to the cooking. Miley scurried away to answer it, and River smiled sweetly at him and said, "Told you so," before going back to the cooking. She had the same expression on her face that Crystal had when she proved Kevin wrong; it was rather annoying.

As luck would have it, Mikey and Lea came in, followed by Mel, Tom, and Gerald, with Julie bringing up the rear. Everyone was relieved to have them all inside at last, and just as they came into the kitchen, the heavens opened up.

"Just in time," River said cheerfully. "How's that for good timing?"

"Quite good, I'd say," Gerald said, unloading the shopping with his son's help.

Mel and Miley went to keep the kids in check, and Lea hung over River's shoulder, eyeing the food up. "Lea!" River scolded when she nearly tripped over his feet reaching for a plate. "Go do something else, I'm busy,"

He left with a shrug. "I'll be back in ten."

"Make it five, we can do this in relays. I'm having chips," she called after him.

After much organisation, they managed to fit everyone in the front room, though mostly on he floor. Kevin found himself intrigued by the way they split into distinct groups.

Michelle and Gerald sat on the couch, alongside Tom with Erin and Ella. Dylan was on the comfy armchair, balancing Kev on his knee as he ate.

In the corner by the door to the study, Mel was sitting on a beanbag next to the large, low mahogany chest where River and Lea were perched, and Miley sat on the floor with her back against the wood, all engaged in an intense conversation.

The others sat in a semi circle to one side, leaving the floor in front of the TV clear. Steph was sprawled out on her front, shovelling steady handfuls of chips into her mouth; Ben was sandwiched between Julie and Gwen, and Kevin sat beside her, all of them munching on their own food.

The three distinct friendship bubbles were wrapped up in their own respective little worlds, until the news report came on, and Gerald called for silence.

---

It wasn't good news.

Five reports in a row told them they were all going to drown, be burnt to the ground, and blown away, in that order.

River had been in Croatia when a storm rolled in off the mountains into Osijek, so she knew what it was like to be in the middle of a bad storm. Venice was quite scary too when she saw the chunk of plaster the size of a man's head fly of the wall of the house opposite the canal.

The media had a tendency to hype things up, but still, the advice to stay indoors was sensible enough. A quick glance out the window showed a continuous solid sheet of water slide down the window.

Unless it was a matter of life and death, River would curl up in a corner and doze the evening away, thank you very much.

Nearly everyone jumped when the lights flickered and the TV blinked out momentarily. Erin and Ella started screaming, which set Kev off, and River dived in to help calm them down. Tom and Dylan dragged Lea off to get candles and flash lights, while Michelle and Gerald flitted around making sure all appliances that were not in use were switched off and unplugged.

"Alright," River picked up a screaming Kev and marched to the stairs. "Come on, you. It's bedtime.

Miley escorted the twins after her, and Kev protested when they tried to make him sleep in his own room. River persuaded the twins to let him sleep in their room, and she read them several bedtime stories until they all fell asleep, then she snuck upstairs.

The main lights were on, and Steph was rolling out the airbeds and sleeping bags with Ben and Mikey. She went over to help by distributing pillows and blankets, talking to Lea about their shared experiences of storms.

"I swear to God," he laughed as they unfolded a double blanket and laid it on the floor in the centre of the room. "That time in Venice,"

"What, when that block of plaster went flying?" Miley asked.

"It was worse when I was with Tanja in Croatia," River insisted. "A house two blocks away was set on fire, and then her father," they all grimaced, "came in waving a kitchen knife cause he thought there were burglars. Didn't half scare me and my brothers," Tanja was a friend of the family, and her father was a fallen tyrant, since the house was now in her name. To be honest, River had screamed more than anyone else that night after a crazed man with a sharp knife came into the room they were sleeping in during a storm. It had been like a horror movie that night…

"I'll take your word for it," Lea dismissed. He didn't like being out done by River. It kept them on their toes and doing their best, even if it was just out of pride.

She smiled to herself, sorting through cushions. They teased each other, but she knew that he was proud of her; ever since that first day when she had hobbled into the common room and had had stolen her crutches, she had known they would get on together. River was proud to be his friend.

Operation: Sleep Over was all going very smoothly until there was a flash of light from the window, and an almighty crash of thunder overhead, almost simultaneously. The lights went out, and naturally the kids started screaming.

River just caught the startled looks on the younger people's faces before she ran downstairs to the children. In the end, they slept in Michelle and Gerald's room, and when River returned, the others were settling in a circle around a jar with a flame flickering in it to which Steph was tending, alongside a fuchsia coloured orb.

"Fine, start the party without me," she teased, dropping down in between Miley and Lea.

"Can we play 'have you ever?" Steph asked hopefully.

The yeses outweighed the no's, so they played.

Alcohol was supplied by Dylan (Tom had been sensible and gone to bed), and he brought up some apple juice for River along with the shot glasses. He smiled sweetly, and she aimed a kick at his shins, though she was grateful to him. Her body violently rejected alcoholic, and she was sure they wouldn't want to clear up the mess afterwards.

Kevin raised an eyebrow when she was given her own little glass of juice.

"Lightweight?" he asked sceptically.

"Alcohol makes me violently sick within a minute of drinking it," she said simply. "It is _not_ a pretty sight, and I understand you have seen your share of trauma inducing images working with the Plumbers, but I don't want to scar you all further,"

"Okay!" Dylan enthused. "Let's play."

The questions started off fairly straight forward, but after a few rounds, they all got tipsy and they got more far-fetched, and stupid.

Dylan opened his mouth and said, "Have you ever…" he tapped his nose. "Slept rough in a big city."

River's gaze flickered to Kevin for a moment, knowing what his answer would be. He made no move to his glass.

She grabbed hers and threw the drink back. It would have been nicer to be able to have alcohol like the others, but her stomach wouldn't agree with it.

The younger lot stared at her in amazement and, prompted by her move, Kevin followed suit.

"Explain," Ben demanded.

Steph shrugged, having heard the story before.

"Okay," River sat up on her elbows. "I was trekking across the American continent, and I stopped off in New York for a couple of days. Every youth hostel full, and I couldn't get a room anywhere. At quarter to midnight I thought _screw this_ and threw my bed roll down under a bridge and slept there the night." She frowned. "I didn't think much of New York. It was too claustrophobic for me. I need more trees!"

Ben looked at her, eyes still wide.

Julie smoothly said, "Have you ever…sung in a different language in front of a huge audience?"

It was random, but they responded. Mikey and Miley downed a shot, and so did she.

"Sang in Spanish at Southsea Common for Sports Relief," Miley supplied.

"Tried to sing in Hindi," Mikey gulped. "I was terrible…"

"Aww," River said sympathetically. "You got the tune perfectly, though!"

"I messed up the words!" Mikey moaned. "I sounded like I was speaking some variation of Baby-ese."

Miley swatted at him. "Use correct English."

"What were you singing?" Gwen asked.

"That song from Slumdog Millionaire."

"Jai Ho." River added.

"And you?" Ben questioned.

"Same song, different place." She smiled. "It was great fun."

"What, you speak Hindi?" Kevin asked, amazed.

River grinned, and asked him for a coffee in Hindi. He stared at her quizzically.

"How does that song even go? I can't ever make the words out," Ben said.

"Steph, where's your acoustic guitar?" she asked.

"Hang on," she jumped up to get it.

"Thanks," River said when she passed it over.

She sat up straight, settled into place, and played the intro. It sounded better in played with the real instruments they had in India, but no matter. She remembered every word and every pronunciation.

"Wait," Ben stopped her before she reached the chorus. "Say that again, but _slowly_,"

"Jai Ho," she stressed each sound. "About four times, then its; _Aaja Aaja Jind Shamiyane Ke Tale Aaja Jariwale Nile Aasman Ke Tale_."

They looked at her like she was speaking some unknown alien language.

"I'll teach you tomorrow," she promised. "At this rate, we won't be going anywhere," she glared at the window, just as another roll of thunder crashed outside.

"Where did you learn that?" Gwen asked, still in awe.

"I spent some time in India, doing relief work. And I used to go to school with a boy from the same city that Slumdog Millionaire was filmed in. He taught me the basics, and then I went to some evening courses. When the film came out, I asked my friend to help me learn the music and the lyrics, and I learned the words with it." She smiled at the memories. "It was _so_ worth it. I went back to the slum I worked at and sang it for them. The kids thought it was brilliant,"

"What does the title mean again?" Miley asked.

"Along the lines of _Victory unto thee_. It can be translated in a few different ways, but that's the gist of it."

"Is there anywhere you _haven't_ been to?" Ben asked impatiently.

"She hasn't been to Antarctica," Lea sniggered.

"Actually, I have."

"Wha…? Since when!"

"Since last spring. It was only for five days though,"

"How come?"

She shrugged. "I won it on the back of a cereal box. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"I hear it's lovely at this time of year!" Mikey grinned.

"Cold. And white. And Dry. Unless you care for a dip. Apparently it's really good for your skin if you don't die in the first five minutes."

"Okay then," Lea glowered. "I stand corrected."

"I haven't been to the moon," River mused aloud.

"I have!" Ben chimed in.

"Nah, extraterrestrial cultures and ecosystems are fascinating, but…I love this blue and green-"

"And yellow and brown," Lea added.

"Rock. Lea, shut up. You know what I mean,"

"Anyways," Mikey grabbed his shot glass. "Have you ever…?"

The evening progressed until the majority of them were falling asleep, and River nudged them towards the airbeds. She crawled over to the guitar stand to put the instrument away, and crawled back in the light of the candles Mel was lighting. She alone had abstained from the game, just sat there in the corner, serene and mystic, observing them all.

Ben, Julie, Steph, Gwen and Kevin fell asleep fairly rapidly, squished in around Mikey, who lay on his back, legs in the air, tail thumping rhythmically against the carpet. It was a lot warmer than it would have been, with the storm still raging.

Miley had called shotgun on the sofa, so Lea and River would have to find some extra floor space to curl up on.

While Lea tried to extricate his sleeping bag from beneath his younger brother, River climbed onto the edge of Mel's bed, and waited for her to return from the kitchen. The stove was gas powered, so she had made hot chocolate for those who remained awake. Dylan had slunk off some time ago, God only knew when.

She returned, and handed River a mug, before giving one to Lea, and placing the other by the sofa for Miley. She settled down beside River, and waited.

"I've been thinking," River said eventually.

She felt Mel's perception kicking in as they both took a sip.

"Thinking is dangerous around here," Mel put in.

River stifled a laugh. "Too right. But yeah, I've been thinking." She took another sip before continuing. "I think I may have Kevin sussed."

They exchanged a look; her sapphire eyes bright in the dim light of the room, glowing for a moment in the lightening that lit the rest of the room up. River could always tell the difference in people's eyes; Steph and Mel were similar, but Mel's eyes were slightly darker around the outer edge of the iris, and her pupils were much deeper, full of more expression. She wasn't as easy to read as her younger sister.

"What do you think?" Mel murmured quietly.

"He…didn't like it when I came to tick them off for having that fight. I don't think he expected it. He strikes me as the sort of person who wants to know where he stands with people."

"I thought so too."

"He's proud. And stubborn. I don't think he likes the idea of working in conjunction with a psychologist." She paused, trying to gather her scattered thoughts together. "There's something about him…oh, I don't know!"

"A draw?" Mel asked.

"Well…not exactly. Since Vilgax dropped by and the accident with the omnitrix, something's orientating me in a certain direction, and every corner I turn, there's Kevin." She didn't know what it meant.

"Maybe that's why you felt that you should come down here instead of going to Ottawa." Mel pointed out.

"Mmm," River frowned. That had crossed her mind, too. "But I don't know why. I don't like winging it all the time like this."

"Have you thought that, maybe…" she trailed away.

"What?" River said sharply, looking her in the eye.

Mel took River's face in her hands and looked straight through her.

It was the weirdest sensation; River never knew how to describe it when asked.

It was like going sideways, when reality seemed to slide away at a diagonal without coming closer or moving further away. Sharing your soul with someone could be incredibly uncomfortable, but River trusted Mel with more than her life.

Mel conveyed her idea, showing her arguments in their shared mind, and River felt the urge to laugh. Mel let her go, and she flopped back onto the bedspread.

"Are you serious?" she questioned.

"What do you feel?"

"Useless."

"River,"

She propped herself up and frowned.

"Think about it. Personally, I think your personality makes an excellent buffer on his."

"That's what Steph's for," River said impatiently. "I don't think I have Kevin's respect, to try what you're thinking." Steph kept a constant stream of tiffs between them that normally kept resentment from building up to explosive levels. How could River act as a buffer against Kevin? She was completely different to him and Steph.

Mel shrugged. "If he's willing."

"Oh, yeah, that'll go down great, won't it? 'Oh hi, I know we met only a couple of weeks ago but my spirit buddy thinks I'm your spirit guide in this life, mind if we share souls for a bit?'!"

"I think honesty would work best in this situation." Mel said coolly.

"There's a difference between 'being honest' and 'candid'. He'd refuse," she was almost certain of that. She had heard from others, and seen enough with her own eyes to guess how he would react. Probably with scepticism, and then walk away laughing at the impossibility of it. Or, maybe she could rouse his curiosity enough to talk it through with him. The least likely outcome would be that he agreed to it, no questions asked.

She snorted at the thought. Kevin? Silent and questionless? And there goes a flying pig by the window.

"He likes to learn," Mel reasoned. "If you could get him interested…?"

"But it's not like a science thing where I have proof to back me up. You'd only believe in all this mystical crap if you experienced it first hand. Look at those two," she nodded at the Simcox twins. "Miley isn't in touch at all, and Lea is only slightly, but _he's_ never seen Tipsy."

Tipsy was the soul of her first pet cat; the little black shadow flitted through her old house, and only a handful of people had ever seen her. Mel, River herself, a girl called Mia from Year 10 French, and Rowena who had been part of the youth orchestra in Fareham that River had attended.

"You're being too negative," Mel told her simply.

River stared at the wall for inspiration, watching the lighting create shadows against the blank canvas of the room.

What to say? What to _think_, really.

She remembered finding her spirit guide, two of them in fact. One made of light and energy, the other the earthly, warm, solid girl beside her in the edge of the bed. It hurt a bit to think of her grandfather in that way…

River had worked out a lot about Kevin by now, with the knowledge of his background to back up her idea of how his mind worked. It would have been simple enough to deduce, even without all the big fancy words people like Bowlby and Ainsworth had come up with.

So, for glaringly obvious reasons, he wouldn't trust her. Even then, River guessed it was in his nature to be cautious towards people. As Mel had inadvertently pointed out, _soul melding_ would be a great way to suss out everything there was to know about him, and River refused to go along with it.

She was happy and confident in herself; rather content with life as a whole with a few minor blips here and there she had to iron out. Kevin was another kettle of fish entirely; he most certainly wasn't content at the moment, if ever. Even when she came across him lounging around and relaxing, something felt restless about him.

River glanced over at the heap of teenagers on the floor, and saw him spooning Gwen, leaning against Mikey's right front leg. Even in sleep, he seemed on edge.

Fate had been grossly unfair to him. It was like form the moment he had been born he was set up to fail. And yet, he had somehow managed to turn it around, but now something was trying to swing back and knock him down again.

All these little things that conspired against his efforts to keep a good life, River could feel them tugging in every direction.

But would soul melding help? What could it possibly do to make a difference?

"I think you should sleep on this," Mel murmured softly. "See where you stand in the morning."

"If the world's still standing in the morning," River sighed. She downed the rest of her drink and set the mug aside.

They gathered up their blankets and settled next to the wolfish Lea, who raised his head to look at them, tail thumping against the sofa.

Tiny little Mel curled up against his left side, while River settled on his right, using his huge paws as a pillow. He snorted like a horse, the air lifting her fringe momentarily. She felt a bit better once she was comfortable and felt sleepy.

Her last, focused thought before she felt her senses dull and succumb to sleep was of her late grandfather.

---

"Woo!" someone yelled.

Kevin opened his eyes groggily, and felt a stab of pain run through his head. He'd fallen asleep with the ID Mask on, and he was reaping his just reward.

Ben was excited about something, and Kevin was vaguely aware of the thing he was leaned against shifting, and of Steph's voice muttering darkly, threatening curses.

"Mmm?" Gwen murmured, trying to sit up.

"Look," Ben demanded.

"What the f…" Steph trailed away. "Bloody hell!"

"What is it?" Mikey rolled over, and Kevin fell flat on his back, winded. "Oh! Sorry mate,"

A large, wet nose pressed against Kevin's neck in concern. "I'm good…" he groaned.

"Look outside," Steph thundered past them to rouse the others. "Mel! Wake up!"

Kevin dragged himself to his feet, and stumbled to the skylight. Ben had pushed it open, and was standing on top toe to see outside. Pushing him aside, Kevin could see the full scale of the storm outside.

The street was flooded, and many trees had fallen over to blockade the roads. The sky was a dark, threatening grey, and the atmosphere still felt charged.

"No school!" Ben said gleefully.

"Woot," River was getting to her feet, and stretching her arms. "That means we have to put up with you lot for a day."

It took a while to get everyone up, and downstairs Michelle was already sorting breakfast. They could make toast on the hob, so that's all they had, but with so many people attending the meal they were soon running low on bread.

Gerald went to call round his friends and see if there was a store open within walking distance, and they others went to their various past times.

Miley and Mel kept the kids entertained with some glove puppets and fairy tales; Ben and Steph challenged each other to a best two out of three arm wrestling match, with Julie acting at referee. And then it was best three out of five. Then five out of seven. And then seven out of nine…

Mikey migrated to the piano and started playing Elton John music obnoxiously loud, attracting Dylan who sat next to him and sang along at the top of his voice.

Kevin dithered for a bit, unsure if he should go cheer Steph on, force feed Mikey a sock to make him shut up, or try to tune out the colourful stories Miley was making up on the spot for the kids.

In the end, he slunk off to find Gwen.

She wasn't on the ground floor, nor the first, so he assumed she was in the attic.

He didn't call out to her, preferring to sneak up and take her by surprise; it was a good job he did, because as she climbed the stairs, he heard two voices, and one of them said his name.

Kevin hovered on the stairs, just out of sight, straining to listen to what they were saying. He removed the Mask, feeling the headache subside somewhat, and placed it beside him on the step.

"I don't know…" River sighed. "Mel's pulling her mystical air again and it's not helping me at all."

"What did she say last night?" Gwen asked.

"Well…okay, back up and start from the beginning." There was a pause. "There are…guides, if you like, throughout our lives. They come in many shapes, sizes, colours, etc… But generally there is a solid, physical entity that provides a sort of base for us. Mel is that base for me. She knows me better than anyone else, inside and out, because we've done something called _soul melding_."

"I think I've heard of that before," by her tone, Kevin knew Gwen was frowning. "My grandmother told me about it one time."

"Verdona?" River asked.

There was a stunned silence.

"Sorry, just that I've heard along the grape vine," she coughed loudly, "_Steph!_ And she's an Anodyte, isn't she? Yeah. Pure energy beings, I'd expect her to know about this. The basic ideas can be found in most old cultures, especially Chinese. They call it _Chi_, but it's essentially Manna."

"Mmm,"

"So, soul melding. You know a bit of magic, don't you? It's a bit like mind melding, but with your soul. Yeah, sounds a bit scary, I know. Mel…seems to think that Kevin's the reason I came down here. Some divine intervention or something random."

"And…the soul melding?"

"Mel reckons I should try it with Kevin. But I'm sure he'd say no,"

Gwen laughed. "Probably."

"I think I understand him now," River went on. "Yeah sure, I've got a big file sitting on my shelf at the farm that says otherwise, but I feel so sorry for him."

Gwen sighed. "I don't know how to help him. He's been so…I don't know! Even when you got him to come out again…he just hasn't been the same."

"Okay, Dr Collins' here has something to say on the matter. Right, so psychologists say that there are 'risk factors' to – I know, how crap is that term? – children in certain situations. Things like the area they live in, socio-economic background, all that shizz… So I could comply a list of things that contribute to how he is today, based purely on the psychology and evidence given to me. Now River wants to say something; for God's sake, people! If I had a father figure like that douche bag, _I'd_ go a little nuts too. More than a little. I'm surprised Kevin's actually as normal as he is,"

Kevin tried to suppress a laugh. Him? _Normal_? Yeah right.

"He's been really…distant, since…" Gwen couldn't go on.

"Mmm." River agreed, apparently. "And Mel said…argh! He's proud, and stubborn, and has a Y chromosome. Plus, _I'm_ a psychologist. No matter what I say, he's going to avoid my advice like the plague. He's had enough of them since the Null Void, I know _I _would." There was a pause, probably as she shook her head. "Poor guy. He's suffered so much,"

"You think soul melding would help?" Gwen asked quietly.

"No idea. If he agreed to it, possibly. But I doubt he'd believe I word I say, and even if he did, he won't let a complete stranger in just like that," the sound of snapping fingers ensued.

"Maybe if I talked to him?" Gwen hedged.

"No. It can't be forced, a decision like that. I know it sounds corny, but it has to come from the heart. Not many people believe in this sort of thing, and a handful of those who do believe are not willing to put that faith into action. I trust Mel with my life, and then some; but I've known her for years and we're close friends. I may know a lot about Kevin, but I don't know the ins and outs of his personality, and he doesn't know me either. He wouldn't feel comfortable trusting his soul to someone like that."

"How does it work?" Gwen asked, intrigued.

"Well, you just sort of look in each other's eyes and see down through them to the soul inside…it's so hard to explain. I can tell a lot about someone without going through the motions, but you can never truly tell unless you meld with them. And if you do it with the wrong person, you can scar someone for life."

"How do you mean?"

"Scar as in scar their spirit. You can scar your body, like this," there was the rustling of fabric, and a gasp from Gwen. "You can scar your mind, like listening to Mikey singing _I feel like a Women_ in the shower. And then you can scar the spirit, or soul, and that is the hardest to heal."

"I wonder…" Gwen began, but trailed away.

"Go on," River encouraged.

"What do you see, when you look into Kevin's eyes?"

River deliberated for a moment, and Kevin chanced a look at them over the top of the steps. They were sitting amid the beanbags; River was staring at the ceiling, lost in thought, while Gwen watched her intently.

"First, tell me what you see," River said.

Gwen cast around for words. "I see a bad boy wanna be with a huge soft side that's trying to make up for the mistakes he's made." She mumbled something else, so softly that he couldn't hear it.

River nodded slowly, before saying her piece. "He's a deep person; there's a lot there. But I know he's not a ruthless, bloodthirsty psycho with no respect for human life."

Gwen looked surprised by the statement.

Kevin felt a bit stunned himself.

"Trust me, I know. I've met a person once before, only once, who _was_ pure evil. You looked into his eyes, and it was dead; there was no emotion whatsoever. He came from a good, solid background as the only child if a wealthy Pub owner in Scotland. He had a good education, good emotional care, everything laid out for him to have a good, solid, _happy_ life. And he still wanted to watch the world burn for the fun of it. Trust me, I'll take my gut instinct over my training any day, and Kevin's eyes are alive and full of emotions. He's a good person,"

Gwen sighed in what sounded like relief. "I was starting to think I was the only one who though that," she admitted sheepishly.

River shook her head, smiling. "If I thought for a moment Kevin was evil I would have nagged the authorities to throw him back in the Null Void. But he isn't; what made him end up there in the first place was purely situational. With a bit of personality traits thrown in. I mean, he talks back to _Magister Tennyson_, God only knows what he said to the officials when he was in custody,"

They both laughed. "I can imagine," Gwen smiled fondly, making Kevin's heart tighten.

"I don't I want to." River laughed. "Having five brothers is bad enough…"

"So," Gwen said finally. "Are you going to mention it to him?"

River replied after a moments thought, very slowly as though she weighed each word carefully before speaking it. "If it comes up in conversation, then yes. If not, I'll leave it. He's got enough on his mind without me adding to it."

"If you can help him, please…" Gwen suddenly sounded desperate. "I'm so worried about him…"

"I can try." River stated simply. "I can't promise that I can help, but I _can_ promise that I will try my best. That is," she added stiffly, "of course, if he _lets_ me."

Gwen laughed again, and stood up as River did.

"I have a feeling I'll be wanted downstairs in a few moments," she checked her watch.

"How do you do that?" Gwen asked, following her to the stair well.

Kevin scrambled down to the landing, and down the hallway so it would look like he was walking towards them when they reached the floor.

"Well, there's the long answer and the short answer." River began.

"Short?" Gwen asked uncertainly.

River stepped onto the landing, arms outstretched, pulling a face. "Dunno."

"And the long answer?"

"I have no idea," she effected a pure British accent, and caught sight of Kevin. "Heye," she waved cheerfully, giving no sign that she had been aware of him eaves dropping.

Gwen offered him a warm smile, and he found himself gravitating towards her. "Did you lose the mask?" she asked him,

Damnit! He'd left it on the stairs. "Just put it down somewhere," he said offhandedly. "I was getting a headache."

"I'm sure Miley's got some headache mix on her," River said the below the banisters. "I'm sure she'd find you some if you ask,"

"Sure," he said distractedly. He was mulling over everything he'd just heard. True, he was intrigued by this melding thing and wished to learn more, and true, he felt inclined to distrust River enough to not let her into his mind. But still…she had said herself, and he had heard her, that she wouldn't make him unless he was willing. And she seemed to have his best interests at heart, the same way she seemed to look out for everyone around her…

Gwen appeared to realise he was far away, because she took his hand and guided him downstairs. In the front room, River was talking to Gerald about food stores, and everyone else was watching Ben and Steph fight it out on the carpet.

Sweat beaded their foreheads as they struggled to pin their opponent's arm to the floor. In the end, Steph won by the skin of her teeth, and celebrated by crowing in Ben's face and flexing her cramped muscles.

"Best twenty-nine out of thirty-one!" Ben challenged, still out of breath.

Mikey played an ominous, _dun, dun, dun, dun, dunnnn, dun dun dun dun dun_ on the piano, making the congregation laugh.

"You, shut up," Steph snapped at him. "You," she rounded on Ben, "_bring it_!"

"Okay!" River walked in between their outstretched arms before they could wrestle again. "Before that, can I have a volunteer to come with me to the store? We need more bread."

"Hell no!" Mikey snapped. "I'm not going out there," he pointed at the dark and threatening sky.

"Well, no toast for you then," she said simply, shutting him up in less then ten words. "Do I hear volunteers?" she asked again.

Silence was her answer.

"Do I have to nominate someone?" she said patronisingly, making Lea and Miley laugh. "How's about-?"

"I'll do it," Kevin said impulsively.

Everyone turned to stare at him, which reminded him that he didn't have his ID Mask on.

River clapped her hands together, and grinned. "_Ex_cellent! I don't have to bully anyone into it. Grab a coat or something and let's go, before the panic buy,"

She smoothed everything over in a single sentence, drawing attention away from him as she went to find her walking boots. Kevin wasn't sure if she was just acting normal, or extra normal to bring focus to her instead of him.

Gwen kissed his cheek before they left; ID Mask securely on before they braved the elements.

It was ten minutes walk to the store, with another ten and a half minutes to circumnavigate the debris. "Gees," River said, kicking a log out of her way. "It's still muggy." She looked up at the sky. "I think we'd better get a move on if we want to miss that," she pointed at another black and purple cloud to the east, which was staining the grey, water laden sky.

They had to pick their way over and around so many trees it was untrue. Kevin kept quiet as they trekked down the road, and after a few attempts at conversation, River let him be.

Once at they finally reached the store, it started spitting, and the Indian man behind the counter said politely, "Good morning Madam and Sir,"

"Good morning," River smiled back at him. "Lovely weather," she said conversationally.

"Dreadful," he agreed. "I'm surprised you made it here,"

"We walked," River pulled out a list Gerald had given her. "Took twice as long to get here,"

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"We should be all right, thank you," River nodded politely.

The man bowed in acknowledgment, and went back to the radio on the counter.

"Oki doki," River consulted the list like a preacher consulting The Bible. "Eggs, milk, bread, butter, potatoes, and assorted vegetables." She ploughed on ahead through the empty aisles with a basket.

Kevin followed her, wondering when to broach the subject. He took the basket from her when it began to get heavy and she visibly struggled to carry it.

"Thank you," she said gratefully. "The old arm isn't what it was," she shook her right arm out to regain the feeling. "Right, milk?"

Kevin checked their items. "Check,"

River rounded a corner and he followed close behind her. "Butter?"

"Check,"

"Potatoes?"

"…Nope."

"Here we are," she selected a sack and held it in her arms. "Won't fit in there, I'll carry it,"

Kevin rolled his eyes, and plucked it from her grasp, slinging it over his shoulder.

"Or you can carry it, that's okay too," she feigning irritation.

"Aren't you gonna stop me?" he teased.

She exaggerated looking him up and done. "I don't like my odds. I'm just going to let you get your own way this time."

"Not even try?" he was disappointed she could be so easily dissuaded. Gwen was much more fun to wind up; she would have thrown him in the freezer by now if he'd done that to her.

"Nope," River checked the list again. "I want to get the food and leg it back before _that_," she pointed out the window, "becomes an issue." The black clouds were swirling forth at an alarming rate. "We're both quite tall, and I don't want to become an electrical conductor. My old Physics teacher put the fear of God into us about being caught out in a storm."

While she speedily sifted through various vegetables, Kevin gathered up his nerve to say something. He wasn't sure how to approach it, unless he could pretend he'd heard the phrase _soul melding_ somewhere else. River would see straight through him if he lied to her face…

"Reckon we need carrots?" she asked absently.

"Sure, why not? We need to see in the dark anyway," he said, thinking of the power cuts.

"Ah, that's a common misconception." She said. "Carrots improve your eyesight, because the vitamins encourage the cones and rods in the back of you eyes to work more efficiently, but they don't let you see in the dark."

"Right," he said distractedly as she placed a bag of carrots into the basket.

"Oooh, yams! We'll have some of that," she compared prices on two bags.

A roll of thunder rumbled in the distance, making them both look up.

When she went back to the bags in her hands, Kevin struck. "What do you know about soul melding?" he went for an innocent tone, and doubted it had worked.

River looked him full in the face, and he found he had to look away, suddenly wishing he could take back what he had just said.

"What makes you ask?" she said evenly, not a trace of betraying emotion to be seen.

"Just wondering," he said, chancing a glance at her again, fixing his gaze on the bridge of her nose rather than her eyes.

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and he gulped.

_So_ totally busted.

"Where did you hear that phrase?" she asked politely.

Kevin somehow managed to crack under the strain of her innocent question, and confessed, "I heard you and Gwen talking in the attic,"

"Oh," comprehension dawned in her face. "I _thought_ I felt someone there. Was that you?"

He nodded, ashamed of himself. It surprised him intensely when she laughed and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're going get hanged for it, Kevin! You look like I've just sentenced you to death. I'm not angry, honey,"

He just stared at her desperately, with no idea what to say.

"So…I caught your interest?" River asked.

Kevin nodded.

"And what do you think?" she asked, walking further down the aisle to inspect more vegetables.

"I…don't know," he answered honestly.

"Can't help there if you don't know yourself," she said kindly, looking at some spinach before dropping it in disgust. "Eww. I don't think so somehow…" she looked up at him again. "Try," she encouraged.

"Well," he said slowly. "That sounds kinda creepy, sharing your soul with someone else…but, I don't believe you'd do it unless you knew what you were doing,"

She snorted. "Course not. Like I said, it's so dangerous to open yourself up to someone like that. It's so easy to damage or destroy someone that way; some people work to gain trust, only turn round and steal their life force, or wound them so badly they can never function like a human again…" she shuddered at some unpleasant thought. "But those people are few and far between, Thank _God_."

"That bad?" Kevin asked morbidly.

"You don't _ever_ want to meet someone whose soul has been destroyed. It's horrible," this was the first time he had seen a truly disturbed and uneasy expression on her face.

"Like how?"

"Well…it's not exactly like they're _dead_, as such, but they might as well be. Death is really hard to define; true death in the sense comes when the mind and body cease to exist, and everyone who knew you has died or forgotten you. Unless of course you're reincarnated, in which case you never truly die. The body dies when it can no long respire; you can live for a little while without breathing or your heart beating, but if you cannot respire you _will_ die immediately. Then there's death of the mind, when neurological activity ceases to happen. Death of the spirit…it's much worse. When that happens, people tend to go mad. There's a saying that if something really bad happens to someone, and they change so drastically, that the person they knew is already dead: that's when the spirit has either died, moved on, or been ripped to shreds.

"Either way," she shuddered. "It's not pleasant."

"I'll take your word for it," Kevin said, trying and failing to sound off hand.

"Do it," River agreed, not looking up. "And hope you're never faced with that."

"So," he said after a long silence. "If I said I'd let you search my soul…?"

"I'd ask if you were absolutely sure," River said instantly.

"And suppose I said yes?"

"We could do it when we got back to Mel's."

Kevin gulped.

"Or not." She added.

He shook his head, trying to clear it.

"It's not a snap decision you can make like that," she snapped her fingers. "You have to trust the person doing it fully and completely, and be absolutely certain it's the right thing to do."

Kevin stared at her with wide eyes.

"Don't worry now," she tapped his shoulder lightly. "Fret about it later. Right now, I want to grab the grub and run for it," she nodded at the window again.

It was like nighttime out there, and Kevin gulped again. All that charge in the air…

"Come on," River rushed to grab eggs and bread. "Since you insist on being pack horse, I'll take this and the lettuce, and you can take the heavy stuff.

The man behind the counter helped them to pack everything up and relayed what the radio had told him. "Another storm, at least as bad as last night. You would be wise to get home as quickly as possible, it looks terrible out there."

"Thank you," River smiled at him, and added something in Hindi, which made the man crack a wide smile. "C'mon, Kevin," she jerked her head at the door. "Our doom awaits us."

They scurried back the way they had come, with huge drops of rain beginning to fall. It had been well over forty minutes since they had set out, and Kevin wasn't surprised to find a large, caramel coloured wolf running towards them through the gloom.

"Bless you, you're an actual angel," River told him, scratching Lea behind the ears.

The sky light up with a huge crash of thunder. Two lines of stark white forked their way across the sky, meeting in the middle and resulting in a perfect sphere of quivering electricity.

"Wow!" River grinned, despite the dangers of being outside in a storm. "Did you see that? That was orb lighting! It's the rarest kind, it hasn't been seen since the beginning of the twentieth century,"

Lea took a mouthful of her coat, and sung her up onto his back. "Save it for later. Room for one more up here,"

Kevin climbed up onto the wolf's back, feeling decidedly odd by the proceedings. Lea took off at a run, and it was only five minutes later – after jumping trees and cars – they were back indoors, shaking the rain off.

"What took you so long?!" Miley demanded, looking frantic.

"Riv had to stop and looking at the orb lighting in the sky," Lea began.

"Oh thanks," she muttered to him, getting an ear full of it from Miley. "I know where you sleep, flea bag!"

---

**Title equals CHEESE FEST!**

**Lol. I just had to bring up Slumdog Millionaire, I watched it the other night with some friends and one of them knows the song on the piano, and then we googled the words, and sang terribly (I, on the other hand, sang to la because I'm smart :D)**

**I had a vague idea for that song later on in this story, which will take a while to incorporate ;) stay tuned!**

**In other news, I have decided to do the episodes: Fool's Gold (for the popcorn :D), Vreedle, Vreedle (so Ben and Kevin can have a heart to heart and I can try to develop Julies character because I keep forgetting her xD), If All Else Fails (so Ian can be like; 'so then the enemy was MWHAHAHA! And then Devin was like AHA! And the they were like NOOOO!!!!! And I was like YEY! And then they were like BLARGH I is well slain, and we were like WOO SHOWER TOKENS!'), In Charms Way (because I feel like it, and I want Ben to puke on Kevin and Mikey to be like 'SMOOTHIE!'), Trade-off (because, MASSIVELY GWEVIN MOMENT!!!) Con of Rath (because Rath is awesome, and the Tiffin is cute :D), and Time Heals (because I felt like it.)**

**I'm toying with Busy Box as well, and obviously I'll do the Final Battle too. I'll just pretend Vendetta never happened and make up my own version :P**

**Okay, I'll shut up now.**

**Chao, people! ;)**

**xxx**


	10. Reflection

**AN: argh I hate English weather :/ icky and wet. God bless the man or woman who invented the umbrella, is all I have to say for myself after walking collectively for forty minutes to and from train stations. But hey! Life is good :D I suggest you don't read the rest of this note if you didn't see the finale.**

**OMFG! I was like…that, yeah. Oh my flipping god. Cheesy, cliché kiss but I thought it was great xD mainly cause the creators have been hinting at it for AGES and I was like 'omfg HURRY UP PEOPLE!' you'd think they weren't actually dating the way they act sometimes….**

**Anyways, Ben is a prat. It's official :D**

**So, I caused some confusion with the last chapter, so I'd like to clear that up for you (because I duno about you, but confusion kills my brain cells, and I don't want to kill anyone…). When I said two parts, I meant that I started writing the storm into chapter 8, and then I thought 'nah I'll move the whole storm into a chapter of its own' and then I got carried away…and no, I myself do not speak Hindi but I wish I did xD I thought it would make it more interesting if my OCs could speak different languages; Mikey does too, and I will be writing about that later, but for now I'll leave you in the darkness because I'm evil like that :D also, yeah, under eighteen, but let's be honest; most people don't pay attention to the law. I know tonnes of people who drink under eighteen (I don't, because I don't like alcohol full stop for some weird reason…my body just goes 'NO!' and I get sick and die and the moan about it for the next month)**

**Well, hopefully that answered more questions than raised new ones. If not, here's a basket of virtual rotten fruit you can throw at me.**

**One with the show!**

_**Reflection**_

"Red or Blue?" Mikey asked, comparing colours.

"Why not purple?" River pointed out, skimming through a dictionary.

"Oh yeah!" Mikey grinned. "I did think about that!"

"What about pink?" Steph asked sarcastically, glowering at the sky outside.

Mikey considered for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah. Pink just doesn't cut it for a skateboard unless you're trying to make a statement…"

"Like?" Ben said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, a girl may have a pink skateboard to make a statement about her femininity in a male dominated world and highlight the struggle for equality among the sexes."

"Wow," Miley said glumly. "That's deep for you,"

"Or!" Mikey went on, standing on the piano stool to proclaim his point to the entire room. "It may also be a statement of a gay man showing his sexuality, and that he is proud to be himself!"

"Michael," River put the dictionary in her hands down and grabbed the leg of his jeans, pulling down. "That's meant the to take the weight from your butt, not you feet."

He glared at her before taking his place in front of the keys. "I _hate _you."

"Oh, more fool me." She said, not caring in the slightest.

The living room was full of candles, shedding just enough light to not strain everyone's eyes. The storm was still in full swing outside, and the kids were hiding in the kitchen with Michelle. Gerald, Tom and Dylan were in the study, doing…something useful. More useful than the rest of them.

Mel and Miley were brewing something up in a cooking pot on a small paraffin stove, Lea was dozing in the corner, and River was looking up synonyms in the dictionary.

Ben, Julie, Gwen, and Kevin were playing Uno and not paying any attention to the others.

River had given him a lot to think about, so she let him be while she looked up for words that meant _obnoxious_.

"So," Lea roused himself and looked over her shoulder. "There any reason for looking up words or…?"

"Nah." She shrugged. "I felt like it." Truth be told, she was working on a sketch for her godson who had an obsession with _The Lion King_, and she wanted to find a word other than obnoxious to describe the look on the lion cub's face. She wasn't getting anywhere…

"Uno!" Ben yelled.

"Hey! People, you only get one set of ear drums," River reminded them.

"Well, you can get surgery to-" Kevin began.

"Don't contradict me, mister!" she snapped, pointing at it accusingly.

"Yeah, she has a _doctorate._" Lea chipped in. "Don't mess with the Doc!"

"Dude," River turned to look at him. "You're making me sound like a Looney Tune's character,"

"Eh," Mikey produced a carrot from nowhere and chewed the end off. "What's up doc?"

Everyone laughed, but River raised an eyebrow. "Where did you stash _that_ thing?"

"That's not all I got," he said lewdly, winking at her.

"Oh hahaha, it is to laugh," she said expressionlessly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a word to look up," she exaggerated pouring through the pages to the end, and then going back to the beginning. "Dang it. Where could that word be?"

"In all honesty," Miley asked. "How did you hide that carrot?"

Mikey stood up and swaggered to the door. "Magic!" he proclaimed.

"Like the fungus growing in the sink back home," River concluded.

"Fungus?" Miley asked.

"Mmm," she nodded, drinking some hot chocolate. "Chris found it. It's his," she emphasised the quotation marks, "_magic mushroom stock_. But you didn't hear that from me,"

"Hear what now?" Lea yawned widely and curled up again to sleep.

"_Ex_actly," How many friggin' words were there for obnoxious, anyway? Twelve, apparently, according _The Oxford Dictionary of The English Language_.

"Wanna go smoothie?" he asked.

"I'm good with chocolate, thanks. Mmmmmmmm," she imitated The Simpson's. "Chocolate…"

Lea poked her in the ribs.

"Ow! Sod off, Lyndon,"

She couldn't fight him on the floor, so she settled for whacking him round the head with her book.

"Okay, Mel?" Dylan stuck his head round the door. "Can we borrow the stove for cooking pasta?"

Mel calmly switched it off and handed it over.

"I hate this weather!" River whined. "It's summer, for crying out loud!"

"That English weather just stalks us wherever we go," Miley sighed.

"Well," River thought about it some more. "Vancouver Island's quite temperate too. Lots of rain."

"Didn't the Rez flood or something once?" Lea asked.

"It was like the stuff of legends," River laughed. "We were this close," she demonstrated with her finger and thumb, "to getting in the canoes and paddling for the mountains."

"I don't get it," Ben whined.

"It's this myth, a bit like Noah's Ark," River explained. "I got a whole lot more to bore you with if you like,"

"I'm game," Julie sat up.

"Been there," Steph yawned widely. "Done that," rolled onto her back. "Got the t-shirt." Closed her eyes and slumped against the rug. "Bor-_ring_."

"Aw," Lea simpered. "Is the little birdie too tired for stowies?"

Steph pounced on him. "_Diiieeee thing of evil!_" she shrieked.

"Hey, hey, hey!" River snapped. "You're gonna fight, take it _outside_ where we don't have to watch,"

---

By Sunday, the skies were bright again, and the debris was being removed. While a truck came by to plough the streets, Gerald enlisted the gang to clear away the garden.

River mourned over the dent in the cab of her truck.

"My poor baby," she groaned.

"It's a _car_." Lea stated. "You'll live."

"But…" her bottom lip wobbled pitifully.

He _hated_ it when she did that.

"But…Lea!" she pretended to cry into her hands. "It's my _truck_! The first one I bought after my accident! It's like extended family!" she stroked the hood. "You diss the car and you diss the Collins family!" she accused.

There was an almighty scrapping and wrenching sound, which made them both jump. Kevin had just pulled the dent out of the metal so it looked as good as new.

Both their jaws dropped, but then River's face split into a wide grin. "Awesome!" she went to inspect the truck cab. "It's better than it was before the tree fell on it!"

"It's what I do," he shrugged. "I couldn't let another car lover have their ride trashed!"

"Okay, I know you've refused me in the past, but," she flung her arms around his neck. "You are the best!" she pranced away, passing Lea and pointing in his face. "The Blue Beast lives to backfire another day! HA!"

"I _hate_ you," he snarled at Kevin. "She's not gonna shut up for a week about this!"

They set about moving the fallen trees into a pile at the end of the garden. It went smoothly until Kevin dropped a particularly large branch on Steph's foot, and she went in for the kill.

"It's your _job_ to keep them under control," Lea reminded River as they raked up the leaves.

"Yeah, that's true." She said. "But," she stuck her rake in a pile of twigs and leant against it. "I don't like my chances. I mean, _look_ at those two!" she said impatiently. "What do you reckon? I'd last like…what, thirty seconds?"

"Hmm…I see your point,"

"Hey!" something hit him in the face, and judging by the 'oof!' from River, she had been dealt the same treatment. "Slackers, get back to work!" Miley said, walking by with a spring in her step.

"And where's _your_ rake?" Lea demanded.

"Yeah! We're busting our butts over here!" River added.

"I'm site manager," she said smugly over her shoulder.

"What?" they said in unison. "Since when?"

"Since Ben said so. You know, since he's the leader and all," she inspected her hand. "And, I just did my nails. Chao!" and she pranced off.

"Oooh, I'm a'hurt her so bad!" River barrelled after her.

"_Wait_! Wait, wait," Lea grabbed her round the waist and threw her over his shoulder.

"Hey! I'm not done yelling at her,"

"I've got a better idea," he tapped the side of his nose.

"You know," she said in a bored voice as he marched across the leaf-strewn ground. "That would have been _way_ more effective if I could see your face. But, the last time I checked, I was a boring human with eyes in the _front_ of my head!"

Lea dropped her in the bed of her truck. "OW! You bastard!"

He leaned over the side and grinned. "C'mon! I've got a plan,"

---

Kevin and Mikey were carrying a tree trunk to the pile when someone screamed. They tensed, ready for a fight, but Mikey instantly started laughing. "It's only my sister," he said, unconcerned.

Miley was running away from a blob like…_thing_ covered in leaves and mud.

River jumped out of the bushes with a muddy soccer ball, yelling, "Think fast Smiley!" and threw it in her face.

Miley screamed, and tackled River to the ground, before the leaf-blob fell on top of them. Miley snarled, swiping at it, and Lea's face came into view amid a mass of fallen leaves that trickled to the ground. The three of them pulled themselves to their feet, silently staring each other down.

Slowly, Lea turned on his heel and began to walk away – and then Miley threw the ball at him, hitting him squarely in between the shoulder blades. River ducked and hid in a bush as Lea spun round, and both twins disappeared in a whirlwind of fur and claws.

Mikey started yelling encouragements as the two wolves clashed and snarled around the garden. River snuck out of her hiding place and wondered over to where Steph and Ben were pointing and laughing at Lea and Miley.

"We get this _all_ the time," she said, unconcerned when Kevin opened his mouth to say something. "Its play fighting."

Mikey exploded beside them into a black comet and streaked across the grass, pouncing on his unsuspecting brother who sprung round and sunk his teeth into his neck.

"They'll hurt each other!" Gwen cried.

River put a hand on her shoulder, shaking with laughter. "I think Lea's tough enough and ugly to watch his own back. I'd be more worried about Miley, to be honest…"

Said she-wolf was stalking back over to them, shoulder's set angrily with her tail tucked firmly between her back legs, ears flat against her skull. Miley collapsed behind River, a low snarl rumbling in her chest.

"Miles," River shook her head, sitting down and leaning against her friend's side. "You _were_ being a bit bitchy earlier, you did have this coming…"

Miley snapped her jaws together in River's face.

"And I deserved _that_," she concluded with a nod.

"I hate you both…" Miley whined, resting her head between her paws on the ground.

Ben and Steph were chanting, "Fight, fight, fight, fight!" as Mikey mauled his brother. Kevin raised an eyebrow at the whole proceedings.

"Didn't Gerald ask us to clean up, and _not_ destroy the yard?" he demanded of River, the only authority figure in view.

"And what would you like me to do about it?" she asked sweetly. "That may be play fighting," she pointed, "but I'm not physically strong enough to get off my butt and break them up. My spine is at a normal and healthy angle; I'd like it to stay that way."

"Since when do you care about working, anyway?" Ben threw at Kevin.

Steph had broken off chanting to give them all a quizzical look.

Kevin blanched, but River came to his rescue.

"C'mon, guys. He's not on trial here, is he? If you want to get some work done, _you_ go break it up. I'm here for emotional support and care, _not_ to referee every fight that breaks out."

"I'll do it," Steph pushed Ben out of the way, and raised her hands. The band strapped to her wrist that Cooper had made flashed for a moment, before flames began to dance from her palms. "Oh, Michael!" she called.

"Steph, you should know better than to play with fire," River sighed. "Kids today…"

Lea broke away after the first fireball singed his fur, and loped over to the others before pouncing on his sister, knocking both girls over. "Lea!" River complained. "I'm twenty per cent disable, for crying out loud! Go away,"

Miley sniffed, and stalked off to the back door with Lea bouncing around her, nipping her ears and tail, begging to play with her. She phased back and slammed the door on his nose.

"Okay," River stood up. "Now this is getting out of hand."

Lea must have heard her, because he ran up to Mikey and Steph, cuffed them both round the back of the head once, and they dispersed. He trotted to River's side, grinning slyly with his tongue lolling out of his mouth in the warm air.

"Thank you Lea. Now make yourself useful and help us move this crap," River said.

They managed to make some headway before their badges started screaming at them. Gwen got to the message before the others, and Max Tennyson's voice issued from her hand. It was a request to go and check up on what the Forever Knights were doing under cover of the recent weather.

"Reckon we should go?" Steph asked when the transmission ended.

"We _did_ tell Gerald we'd help clear up," Ben began.

"Then goof off," Kevin added.

"Tell you what," River said, grabbing her rake. "You guys go on ahead, and we'll finish up here. Just watch the roads for fallen trees," She was readily willing to let them off the hook, so Kevin decided to make a break for it.

"See ya round!" Mikey grinned, bouncing past her with Steph on his heels.

"Be careful!" she called after them, waving them off.

Kevin had the driver's door of his car open, when he looked up and saw the other's coming around the side of the house. Steph and Ben were racing to get to the car first, as they always did, trying to trip each other up in the mud. Mikey was talking to Gwen as they rounded the corner, and Kevin felt a twinge of jealousy stir in his stomach; she was laughing at something he had said.

Suddenly, they were both soaked in a deluge of water that came out of nowhere from above, coughing and spluttering until a bucket landed on Mikey's head.

"What-!" he pulled it off and glared at it. "The _hell_?! Where did this come from?"

Gwen laughed at him, doubling over in an effort to keep breathing. Mikey glared at her as Steph bounded over to look. "Hey! That's my tool bucket I keep for emergencies! Why do _you_ have it?"

"It just fell on my head! How the hell should _I_ know?" he snapped.

Gwen kept on laughing.

"And _you_ can shut up and all," he glowered at her.

Gwen straightened up and tried to remain composed, but ended up laughing again at his expression. Mikey upturned the bucket and dumped it over her head, stalking off to the car. He looked surprised when Kevin ran by, pushing him into a pile of leaves, but made no move to complain.

Kevin took the bucket from Gwen's head and shoved it into Steph's arms.

"Hey! Watch the kidney, I only have one!" she complained, but he didn't pay her any attention.

"I'm fine," Gwen assured him. "I was asking for that,"

Mikey stood up, dusted himself off, and spat a few leaves from his mouth. "Eww! That tastes _gross_…" he complained.

"I said go! Shoo!" River shook her rake at them. "The world won't save itself, you know. Get going before I set Lea on you,"

"What, _that_ pathetic excuse of a throw rug?" Mikey teased. Lea himself burst out of the leaf litter and towered over him, snarling. "Okay, so long big brother!" and he scarpered to the car.

River poked Kevin with her rake.

"Hey! Cut it out,"

"I will poke you until you leave." She said resolutely.

Steph grabbed his and Gwen's arms. "She means it,"

"And, please, at least _try_ to be careful. I don't want to have to be the one who sends one of you home to your parents in a matchbox. It's not worth the paperwork." River sighed.

It was then that Kevin drew his gaze from Gwen's face down her body.

If his jaw wasn't so firmly connected to the rest of his skull, it might have just hit the ground.

---

_Be careful_.

Gwen wished the boys would listen to reason more often.

She wasn't the only girl – Steph made a point of letting everyone know what her gender was, so no one was likely to forget. But still, it was difficult sometimes being the most feminine member on the team, when she would like to talk about girly things to someone else, and all the guys wanted to do was talk about food, tech, fighting aliens, cars, girls in magazines…and more food.

Right now, Ben and Steph were teaching Mikey the finer points of American Football, which caught his interest since Steph insisted English Rugby was basically American football, while American soccer was English football. It was all a bit confusing.

Kevin ignored them all, concentrating on the road and the yet to be cleared debris. Maybe concentrating a little too hard. His eyes were fixed dead ahead, like he was trying to avoid looking at something.

"Kevin?" she asked tentatively.

It took a moment for the message to sink in, but he finally turned his head to look at her, staring fixedly at a point somewhere on her face, his eyes never deviating from it.

"Yeah?" he was aiming for and missing an offhand expression.

"Are you okay? You look really tense,"

"Is so _not_," Steph snapped from the backseat.

"But it is!" Mikey insisted. "In England, soccer and football _are_ two different sports!"

"No they're _not_!"

Gwen blinked, momentarily distracted by Steph's pronunciation.

"Dude, you just used our accent! _Again!_" Ben taunted.

"Did not!" Steph shouted.

Gwen twisted in her seat to watch Steph try and throttle her cousin. Mikey sat in between them, a hand on each forehead, pushing them apart. "Um…a little help, please? Gwen?" he said, getting clawed by Steph's outstretched hands.

She made a shield either side of Mikey so that Steph and Ben couldn't reach each other. Ben sat and laughed while Steph uselessly beat her fists against the manna, snarling; Mikey settled back in the seat with a sigh. "I owe you a Mars Bar." He grinned.

"We don't have those here," Gwen told him.

"What?!" Mikey sat up so fast he got tangled in his seat belt. "But they had them when we stayed in Victoria! What the hell?"

"This is America, not Canada." Ben pointed out.

"Oh." Mikey looked at him blankly. "What's the difference?"

"Like you don't know," Steph snapped at him. "And soccer _is_ football!"

"It's not! Remember Evy Baxter? Tall black girl with the braided hair and the dragon tattoo? She was captain of the girls _soccer _team, and that stuck up jerk Jerry Calder was captain of the _boys_ soccer team!"

"Come off it, they were the dweebs who couldn't get into the under sixteen's football team for the Hampshire Tournament so they gave them another sports team so they didn't feel left out," Steph said impatiently.

"Steph, you just said dweeb," Ben pointed out.

That brought on a whole new round of curses and vain attempts to get at Ben on Steph's part. He sat there smirking at her through two layers of manna.

"You know," Mikey said conversationally. "If you keep this up, she's gonna kill you when we get out of the car."

"She can try," Ben shrugged. "I'll kick her butt though."

Steph silently fumed at him, apparently out of insults.

"I'll play at your funeral. Some cheesy, happy go-lucky tune…maybe Disney?" Mikey mused.

"Kevin?" Ben called.

"Yeah?" his eyes were fixed on the road again.

"If I die, I want you to pick out the music at my funeral." He shot a glance at Mikey, who spread his hands in apology.

"Something heavy metal and epic," Kevin said distractedly.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at him. What was it with him today? And why wouldn't he looked her in the eye, or more importantly, why was he trying to avoid looking at her unless she spoke to him directly?

She raised a hand and waved it in his face. Five seconds later, he blinked, and turned to look at her again, his gaze fixed somewhere other than her eyes.

"What?" he asked abstractedly.

"What's with you?" she asked in a low voice so the others wouldn't hear.

"Huh?" he looked back at the road. "Dunno what you mean," he added quickly.

Gwen frowned at him, but he apparently didn't notice.

Mikey stuck her head in between the front seats and whined, "Can I talk to you guys for a bit?"

Gwen blinked.

Her shield had fallen without her realising and now Steph and Ben were killing each other in the backseat. Mikey had his head between his knees, hands on the back of his head, groaning.

"My ears are bleeding…"

---

_Keep your eyes on the road. Don't look away from the road. The road is more important than…_Ha! Who was he kidding?

If it had just been him and Gwen, without the others around, he would have said nuts to the mission and made out with her in the back seat, but sadly there were three other people in the car.

How could she _not_ notice?

That morning she had put on a plain, pale blue t-shirt to help clear the yard up. After the bucket fell and covered her and Mikey in water, her top had gone transparent, and clung wetly to her body in a most provocative way.

He didn't want to admit to himself just how appealing she looked.

He had thought that with the mutation, he would no longer feel like a teenaged human boy. Apparently, he was just as physically attracted to her as he had been before, which left him feeling thoroughly confused.

They hadn't exactly…gone out since the 'incident' with the omnitrix, and Gwen hadn't stressed the issue, but all those thoughts had fled from his mind until just now.

Had he been blind? Had he forgotten how it felt to hold and kiss the one he loved?

Mores the point, would she want to do that now he was a rock…metal…thing?

Kevin felt even more ashamed of his appearance than before. You couldn't love a rock, even if it _was_ alive…he couldn't bring himself to look Gwen in the eye, preferring to keep watching the dry, mud caked tarmac of the road.

When they arrived at the warehouse, he automatically unbuckled his seat belt and reached for the door. Ben and Steph were still at each other's throats, for a reason Kevin hadn't quite caught; Mikey pounced on them when it seemed to be getting out of hand.

"Guys, come on," Gwen sighed. "We have a job to do, remember?"

Resolutely looking in the opposite direction, Kevin didn't notice they had gone until he felt something smooth and wet against his arm. Starting, he spun round to find chocolate brown eyes with a dash of ice blue looking back at him.

"You okay?" Mikey asked. "You're really distant."

Kevin sighed. "I'm fine," he followed Steph's footsteps, head down.

Mikey nosed at his hand in a comforting gesture. "Let's go. Gwen will have our hides if we screw this up," he lopped on ahead, leaving Kevin to his thoughts.

---

Half an hour of mindless brawling made Steph a very happy girl.

They were preparing to leave after they had rounded up the knights and acquired the tech they had been smuggling. The on going argument of whether English soccer and football were one and the same or two different sports sparked again as Ben said vaguely he had soccer practise later.

She stopped dead in her tracks when Kevin walked by her, face tortured.

Gwen didn't say anything either, and as they got in the car with Ben, Mikey hung his head over Steph's shoulder, still in his Lupus form.

"Tension so thick you could cut it with a knife," he muttered.

"Ah," she threw her hands up in despair. "I don't _do_ emotional stuff. I suck at it!"

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Mikey asked.

"I don't think you'll help, somehow." She sniffed disdainfully.

Mikey laughed, and licked her cheek.

"Eww! Gross!" she wiped his slobber from her cheek.

"Or unleash River on him again. Probably traumatise him for life, but hey."

"Nah," Steph climbed into the back seat and Mikey climbed over her to sit in the middle. "He's seen Ben waking up in the morning. That's enough to drive even the sanest individual into madness."

Apparently, Kevin wasn't listening. He just watched the road ahead, and Gwen sat in relative silence too.

Steph remembered Kevin throwing a hissy fit and storming off once when they first met because he couldn't stand the silent war she and Ben had waged together. That had been back in the days before smoothies.

Wow. Had that really been a couple of months ago? That was a scary thought…

Mikey sat out of the argument on the way home, keeping a low profile – quite literally, leaning forward so his nose touched his knees, ignoring Steph and Ben.

Fine! He could sit there like an idiot. Steph had better things to do, anyway.

Like plan how to get everyone home again. Julie had already left, but they still had to kick out Ben, Kevin and Gwen. It was great to have the whole team together, but the attic wasn't quite big enough to house all of them over an extended period of time.

Plus, Kevin's mother would be home the next day, so he wouldn't hang round much longer.

Ben poked Mikey into a conversation, leaving Steph to sit and reflect on everything that had happened recently. That most certainly _wasn't_ her normal behavioural pattern.

She missed the old Kevin, the soft and squishy human one made an excellent meat bag for hitting. But more than that, she missed the way they could punch each other and laugh over some small, meaninglessly stupid joke, even if it was shared just between them and the others looked on with raised eyebrows.

Steph didn't like the new, broodingly solid Kevin who fluctuated between borderline 'meh I'm okay' to 'life sucks full stop'.

The situation was far from normal, so she had no comparisons to draw, or any idea how to help. Going along like normal seemed to go from having no effect to making things worse depending on Kevin's mood, which changed like a chameleon's colour.

And she didn't want to bug River about it since she was well aware of what was going on. Poor woman had better things to do with her time, since she and Taylor were trying to scrape some money together to buy a house. It would be really unfair of Steph to expect River to drop everything she was doing just because Steph didn't like the way Kevin acted these days.

Outside her house, they got out and found that most, if not all of the debris had been removed. Inside, Kev, Ella and Erin were running around screaming with delight like the storm had never happened. Steph sauntered off to find her sister while the others grabbed their things before they left.

Mel was making something tasty in the kitchen with Miley and River. It looked like cookies. Not the crap they sold in Palmerton Road outside the school she used to go to, the stuff that called itself 'cookies' which were actually hard biscuits with chocolate chips in them. The real, proper cookies that were large, round and flat, with that gooey moist centre. _That_ was worthy of the name cookie.

"Still in one piece?" River asked, somewhat sarcastically.

"Yes," Steph said defiantly. She thought of Kevin, and her face fell.

"Sup?" River asked, leaving her friends to cook.

"Can I talk to you after the other's go home?" she asked quietly.

"Sure thing," River promised.

Steph beamed. River was such a likeable person, and so reliable. It made Steph feel guilty when she thought of all the crap poor old River had to put up with from her and the gang.

"Off you go then," River gave her a playful push to the door.

Steph drove Ben home, and everyone was amazed when Kevin didn't offer to drive Gwen home like he always did. Ever the diplomat, Mikey wormed his way into the conversation and offered instead. "I was gonna go to Mr Smoothies anyway," he shrugged.

"I'd come too, but I have soccer practise," Ben whined.

"Which is it, drinks or sports? Take your pick," Steph snapped.

After she dropped Ben off, she snuck back into her house and off to find River. She found her in the living room on the sofa, tying a knot in something.

"What'cha doing?" she asked, nosey as ever.

"Ta-da!" River held up her finished article. "I think I might dye it when I get the chance. Hmm…blue, you reckon?"

She had made a little shoulder bag out of bark cloth. "Cool," Steph gave her the thumbs up. "Can I talk to you now?" she pleaded.

River's eyes flickered to the corner of the room before looking back at Steph. She hadn't noticed Kevin in the armchair over in the corner; it made Steph jump. But he was plugged into his ipod and was totally oblivious to the world.

"Come on," River tapped her shoulder, standing up and going into the study.

Steph followed, and sat down on the rickety spare chair beside the wheelie chair, which River took for herself.

"What seems to be the problem, my young chicken?" River asked gravely.

Steph didn't laugh, but watched her with baleful eyes.

"Okay. What's wrong, Steph?" she rephrased.

Steph sighed. "It's no fun anymore." She tried not to sulk.

River blinked. "I'm not following."

"This!" Steph threw her hands into the air. "It was all well and good being a Plumber and stuff, and we had loads of fun together, but now-!" she couldn't find the words, so her sentence trailed off unfinished.

"It's Kevin, isn't it?" River put in.

Steph nodded helplessly.

River leant against her elbow, looking at the shelving thoughtfully.

"I don't like it," Steph admitted eventually. "We could have a laugh and a punch up, then we'd go for a smoothie ad kick alien butt, but now he's just…"

"Hmm,"

"Ben's an idiot," Steph seethed.

"And pointing the finger now isn't going to change anything."

Steph glared at her; when you're quickly approaching your seventeenth birthday, being talked to like a five year old was very annoying. But River did have a point…

"Hey," River lifted her chin up to look her in the eye. "You're all teenagers. You're bodies and minds are changing; it's a fact of life. Hormone levels are all over the place, and this change to Kevin's body has thrown all of that out of whack as well. His emotions will be all over the place, even if he wasn't changed this way. Just give him some time to settle down."

"But," Steph tried to get in, but she was cut off.

"Think about it. How would you feel if that happened to you?"

"Pretty shit…"

"And what would you want?"

"To crawl into a hole and stay there…" she felt like that now.

"The best thing you can do to help is leave him be for now, and when he's feeling better, maybe to talk to him about it. Letting your emotions stew isn't very healthy…"

Steph made a face at her.

"You're never to old for a slap," River added firmly.

Steph sometimes hated her. She loved River to bits for all the fun stuff they did, and the fond memories she had, but sometimes, she hated the authority River commanded over her like another sister.

"Fine," Steph snapped.

"Go on," she gestured to the door. "Lea's probably eaten all the cookies by now,"

"Not if I eat them first!" Steph jumped up and ran to the door – and straight in Kevin on the threshold. "Bloody hell! Where did you spring from?"

"Can I have some paper?" he asked, distractedly.

River pulled some off the printer and handed it to him. "What're doing?" she asked, genuinely interested.

He shrugged. "Stuff,"

"Fair enough," River said, using a tone that had _meh_ written all over it. "Come on, we left those cookie's all alone and defenceless!"

Steph bounced into the living room and towards the hall. "To the kitchen!"

"What's _she_ so happy about?" Kevin's voice reached her ears.

"Oh, nothing. We're on an epic quest to save the cookies of Smith-Tanner land from the jaws of The Evil Simcox Monster of Yore. Care to join us?" River asked.

"FROSTING!" Lea yelled, running down the stairs, and stopping dead when he saw only Steph. "Where's Mikey?"

"Flirting with some floozy down Mr Smoothies," Steph growled.

"Hey!" something hit the back of her head.

"Ouch!" Spinning round, she had to take a step back when she found Kevin breathing down her neck. "Jesus Christ, how the hell do you do that?" she demanded.

"That _floozy_ is my portrait partner from Art," he snapped.

"Okay, calm down. Yeesh! Don't get your knickers in a twist. This is _Mikey_ we're talking about,"

"Okay, okay," River grabbed them both by the arm and shoved them towards the kitchen. "Break it up, you two, or I'll eat your cookies for you."

---

Cari was intensely surprised to find Kevin home when she finally drew up outside their house. He had said he would crash with Steph in their absence, and she had expected him to out fighting aliens all afternoon.

Still, she was immensely pleased when he ran down the drive to greet them with a grin on his face. Crystal was even more elated, and didn't complain when he picked her up and held her upside down.

"How was it?" he asked once Crystal's feet were firmly on the sidewalk again.

"Very simple, the way he would have wanted it." Kevin surprised her further by willingly giving her a hug. Judging by the way she had to prise him off her to unpack the car, he had missed her more than he was letting on. "How have you been?"

A shrug, a furtive look, and a hand shoved into his pocket.

"Okay,"

Of _course_. Cari smiled, ruffling his hair as she passed him to the front door. Once unpacked, she turned to find him helping himself to the biscuit tin. "So, do you have any plans?"

"Actually," Kevin poured himself a drink. "I have to miss school tomorrow. Max wants to send us on a mission,"

"Okay," Cari sighed.

Couldn't be helped, she supposed…this time at least.

A high-pitched keening filled the room, and they both winced.

"Stupid badge…" Kevin muttered darkly, pulling his Plumber's badge out. "What?" he demanded.

"_Steph's gutting me like a sockeye salmon,_" said an unfamiliar voice. "_Hurry up! I'm dying here,_"

"Whatever," Kevin was already out of the room, heading for the front door.

As he reached for the handle, Cain came in, starting when he saw his stepson, but barging past as though he wasn't there.

"Yeah, I'm coming. See you in a bit, Mikey," and he was gone.

---

**Dum de dah…the ending was craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap. The title was…meh incarnate. Geez, I need a new imagination…**

**So! You like? You no like? You lemme know! ;)**

**And the next chapter will be Fool's Gold, since by the end of this chapter I realised Kevin was all brooding and angsty like in that episode and I was like 'why not?! XD' and I also happen to be lazy………and it's midnight where I am o.O I need my beauty sleep otherwise my family is plagued by the zombie of death all morning…and my brother's sorry butt is back from uni and I intend to steal his xbox games.**

**MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So long people ;)**

**xxx**


	11. Fool's Gold

**AN: okay, so I wrote this piece meal over a few days and got MAJORLY carried away and it's pushing 10,000 words and I spent the whole day jamming with my friend and being random. It wore off on my writing xD**

**So, I'll make this note short and sweet (or sour, if that's your preferred flavour ;) ) and forgive any errors, because my laptop crashed and my spell/grammar check died and the whole document had a spack attack and I couldn't alter anything :S **

_**Fool's Gold**_

Mikey was running so late it was untrue. Instead of jumping on his bike he had decided to run the to the meeting. He yelled, "I'm here!" before running into Ben, making them both collapse to the ground in a heap. "Sorry!" he gasped, getting back on all four feet. "I'm mega late,"

Ben looked rather dazed, so Mikey took the back of his jacket with his teeth and gently lifted him off the ground.

"Sorry about that…"

He felt Steph glaring at him from the corner of the room, but he ignored her.

"Now that we're all here," Max began.

Mikey laughed nervously. He hadn't been _this _late before…

Max explained the situation. Some sort of festival, alien Spring Break, someone was missing, due home in two days time…blah blah blah.

He felt himself sagging when he thought about being away for two days. Still, couldn't be helped; it was all for the greater good and stuff. They were dismissed, and he slunk to the door, fighting the urge to grumble about the proceedings.

"Two days!" Ben complained. "I told Julie I'd go see her match tomorrow,"

"I'm sure she'll understand," Gwen said soothingly.

"Hey, Mikey,"

He yelped as Steph kicked him in the gut. "What, _what_?" he demanded, rounding on her.

"There's not enough room for five of us in the car," she stated simply. "You and I need to take it in turns."

"Aww," Mikey grumbled. "I knew I should have brought my bike with me…"

"I don't want to fly the whole way!" Steph whined.

"I'll run," Mikey jumped round so he was facing the others, leaning forward with his rump in the air, tail swinging in every direction. "And I'll race ya!"

"Race this," Steph smirked, slowly walking forward.

Mikey tensed, ready to run. She kicked him in the stomach, and he reeled back howling. "Bitch!"

"Can't catch me!" she ran for the doors and Kevin's car, laughing like a maniac.

He bounded after her, catching up in five long strides, and pinned her to the floor. Naturally, she blinded him and then started pecking at his face so he had to let her go. While the other's took their sweet time to reach the car, Mikey and Steph chased each other around it ten times, and then once more for luck.

"Get back here!" he tried jumping at her when she swooped down low. "You over grown buzzard!"

She pinned him to the ground, writhing in a vain attempt to dislodge her, and proceeded to pack at all the weak points along his back.

"Ow! STEPH!" he hollered.

Something pink flashed before his eyes, and Steph went sent flying into a tree. Mikey jumped up and shook the dust from his fur before trotting over to Gwen and licking her cheek. "I owe you,"

"Come on!" Ben punched his shoulder. "Can we go? The sooner we get there the sooner we leave,"

"Geez, grumpy!" Mikey said, licking his smarting paw. "I'll run the first leg,"

"We also have to camp out," Gwen added.

"Aww," Mikey thumped his head against a tree. "What is it, budget cut so we can't stay in a motel?"

"Yup," Steph walked to the car with a spring in her step. "We'll just set up a tent in the desert and leave you to keep watch all night. That's what wolves do best!" she winked at him.

A snarl built up in his throat. "I still need sleep," he snapped.

Kevin opened his door and got in, ignoring them all. Mikey cocked his head to one side.

"I'll follow you," he said, readying himself for a run.

No response.

"Hello?" Mikey nudged the window with his nose.

"He's in his own little world," Steph said impatiently. "Get going,"

Mikey rolled his eyes before settling into a comfortable position. Running was tiring but exhilarating at the same time; he could keep going for hours if he maintained a steady pace.

They all got in the car, and Kevin revved the engine; Mikey lopped forward before finding a gait that matched the car's speed. He could easily keep this up until they stopped for the night, and still take the first watch.

Still, Steph was flying tomorrow, and that was that, or Mikey would rip her head off.

---

Kevin was as distracted as ever, and Gwen didn't even try to break into his concentration. Ben and Steph were playing Uno in the back, and swearing at each other constantly. Gwen tried to read her book and annotate certain passages for English, but she ended up staring out the window and watching Mikey run.

For such a large, bulky animal, he was extremely graceful in motion. The way his legs moved in sync with each other, in a perfect rhythm that continued and didn't deviate from that straight line he followed alongside the car. From the look on his face, and the lolling tongue, he was having the time of his life.

Gwen wished she had four legs and a tail too, running beside him; maybe then she could get rid of all this tension she was feeling. Apparently, Ben and Steph didn't notice a thing as they continued to fight over the pack of cards. Kevin was…Kevin. Just as dark and brooding as he had been earlier.

The repetitive _thud_ of Mikey's paws against the compact dirt was making her feel very sleepy. Gwen put her book and pencil down before moving her seat belt to fit around her arm so she was more comfortable. She curled up in her seat and closed her eyes, letting herself fall asleep.

She woke with a start when Steph shook her.

"C'mon, wake up!"

"What is it…?" Gwen mumbled, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"Pit stop,"

They both took the opportunity to stretch their legs while Ben grabbed something to eat and Kevin filled the car with fuel. Mikey was lying on the ground behind the car with his paws over his nose.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked him.

"I hate the smell of petrol…"

"They call it gas over here," Steph sniffed in disdain, over pronouncing her English accent.

"My, aren't we the posh one?" Mikey muttered, coughing. "Icky…" he moaned.

Gwen leant against the car door, trying not to yawn. Everything felt muffled and dreamlike still. Steph mobbed Ben for food, before bringing some over to her, and they eat in silence. Mikey thumped his tail against the tarmac hopefully, and Steph chucked him a ham sandwich.

"I can't believe you're actually eating that crap," Steph tried not to wretch.

"Food is food is food." Mikey said in between bites. "I'll eat toxic sludge right about now if it kept me from starving."

"You freak me out," Steph muttered darkly as Kevin came back from paying for the fuel. "Shall we?" she asked.

"Yeah,"

"You good to run or do you want a break?" she shot at Mikey.

"I'm good, actually," he stood up and shook the dust from his fur. "But _you're_ on sentry duty tonight,"

"Fair enough," she shrugged.

"Hey," some truck driver called from another petrol pump.

They all jumped, and regarded him with a suspicious look.

"That your dog?" he pointed at Mikey, who snorted in alarm.

"Yeah!" Steph covered up. "This is my pet, Fido." She laid a hand on his head, and he obligingly let his tongue loll out in an idiotic way to please the onlookers.

"Bit big, ain't he?" the truck driver said uneasily.

"Yeah. Part Newfoundland, part Husky. He's a big'un."

Gwen could see in his face that he wanted to use Steph's hand as a chew toy, but he abstained until the curious driver went off to pay for his fuel.

"Time to go," Steph trilled, pushing Mikey out of the way.

They jumped into the car, Mikey already several paces ahead of them. Gwen spent the rest of the journey power napping until nightfall, when she roused herself to be more sociable.

Ben was getting restless, and Steph was getting fed up. Considering the confinement of the car, she hoped that for its sake they reached their destination soon. Something glinted on the road ahead in the twilight, and Mikey skidded to a halt on the dry grass by the roadside. Kevin slammed on the breaks in response, and they all lurched forward.

"Bloody hell," Steph sat up again, rubbing her neck. "What happened?"

Mikey was in the road, nose to the tarmac, sniffing whatever it was that had caught his eye. The other four got out of the car to inspect what lay in the road, and Steph pointed out the sign that welcomed them to the town.

"Look,"

"Someone's wrecked it!" Ben said.

Kevin scoffed. "Amateurs,"

"They didn't spray the paint very well," Mikey commented it, briefly touching his nose to the wooden board.

"How can you tell?" Be asked, amazed.

"I did A Level and GCSE Art." He put his nose to the tarmac again. "Spray cans are a pop artists best friend."

"Ow!" Ben walked into something. "Stubbed my toe,"

Kevin went back to his car to crank up the headlights.

"Woah!" Mikey blinked in the sudden light. "Something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore,"

Gwen didn't quite believe her eyes. The road was littered with sparkling nuggets of what looked like gold. They converged to get a better look, and Gwen began to question if she was dreaming or not.

"Um…" she frowned. "It looks like…"

"Poop." Kevin supplied

"Shiny poop…" she corrected.

"Is anyone else's mind refusing to wrap around this concept, or is it just me?" Mikey asked, flicking a paw at one of the nuggets. He turned to Steph, who looked outraged.

"This isn't covered in my biology course!" she whined.

"Note to self, ask River when we get back."

Kevin picked up a piece experimentally and sniffed at it. "It looks like…gold,"

Mikey stuck his head over Kevin's shoulder to sniff too. "Sure doesn't smell like excrement…"

"You disgust me," Steph complained.

Kevin raised it up to his face. Gwen was mortified. "Kevin, don't."

"It's okay," he said, not looking at her. He bit it, then nodded to himself. "It _is _gold,"

They looked around them at the littered tarmac.

"Solid gold poop…" Ben said thoughtfully to himself.

"Because that isn't just _messed up_." Mikey added conversationally.

---

"This sucks." Mikey said, covering his head with his hands. "It's official."

"I can't believe they don't know how to cook!" Ben whined.

Kevin rolled his eyes, and went back to his sketchbook. The most Steph had ever done in the kitchen was cobble together something that bore some resemblance to a Victoria Sponge. Gwen…yeah, she had issues she needed to work out with the toaster. It brought a smile to his lips when he remembered walking into her house only to find her screaming at the poor helpless appliance.

"What are _you_ smirking at?" Steph snapped, snarling over the borrowed cooking pot.

"Steph," Gwen said flatly, face in her palm. "It says here to boil some water, pour in the stock cubes, and wait for five minutes. Then it should be edible."

"The packet _always_ lies!" she screeched.

"Steph!" Mikey jumped to his feet, yelling. "Just let Gwen make the bloody soup, please! I want to eat some time this centaury!"

"Don't you yell at me!"

Mikey stormed over to her and removed the packet from her hands, thrusting it at Gwen. "_Every_ time I let you near the food, I get poisoned!"

Naturally, they started a fist fight, so when the food was ready, the other three ate without them. For the most part, Kevin ignored the Transmorphors, and the Tennyson cousins.

As much as he'd like to sit and stare at Gwen all evening, he had more pressing matters to worry about…no matter how many shades of red there were that he could see in the fire light.

His fingers tightened around the locket that was nestled in his rucksack.

He knew what he wanted to do, but he had no idea how to do it or what to say.

The need for blood was outweighed by the need to eat, so Steph and Mikey relented to grab a bite to eat before sitting down for a glaring contest to see who won the argument. Gwen was reading her book again, in a shockingly tempting way at that. It was a bit sad that Kevin was so besotted with her that he couldn't even think straight about such important things. It was pathetic, even if he could admit he was in love.

What to say…_how_ to say…

When it came round to sleeping, he wordlessly took the first watch, and they left him to it. He was able to sit and brood in peace, until something cold and wet wiped itself against his face.

"Hey!" he mumbled, trying to sit up.

"You fell asleep," brown and blue eyes set in a black backdrop was the only thing he could see. "Go to bed, mate. I'll take the next watch."

Kevin didn't argue, so he climbed into the tent Ben and Steph had put up earlier that evening, falling into the space between them and fell asleep again.

---

Mikey liked looking at the stars. Of all the Physics lessons in secondary school, he'd loved the ones where they watched old videos about the solar system. There were so many constellations, which sadly he knew of but was unable to see through the haze of neon lights in the surrounding towns and city.

Still, he could make out a couple, along with Polaris, which always stayed in the exact same place in the sky while everything else spun around it.

He amused himself for a bit, counting how many he could see from here, and trying to remember all he could about them. That one was a nebula, that one was another galaxy, that should be part of the Milkyway but there was too much light pollution to see clearly.

Mikey huffed to himself when he thought of Africa, and the Egyptian desert at night with its crystal clear sky. It was like someone had taken a photo of the firework Redentore Festival, and blown it up across the sky.

This night sky was a poor substitute that did the universe no justice.

"Mikey?"

He snapped his head up and saw Gwen walking over to his rock.

"Hey Gwen," he looked back up at the sky. "You alright?"

"Couldn't sleep," she mumbled. "Thought I'd keep you company."

He waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he gave a wolf's cough and said, "Something's on your mind."

"It's Kevin…" she eventually confessed.

"Wassup?" he asked, looking over at her.

Gwen's expression was almost pleading, so he raised his leg and draped it over her shoulders, pulling her into his side. "Come and talk to Uncle Mikey,"

It made her laugh, but she sobered up when he repeated his question.

"He's been really…distant, the last few days."

"He seemed fine that night we watched Robin Hood." Mikey shrugged.

"Yeah but…"

"I'm sure there's a reasonably logical explanation." Mikey soothed. "You think girls are complicate, guys can be just as bad. Sometimes worse."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Trust me. The inner workings of the male mind are convoluted and twisted and give people headaches." Mikey nodded solemnly.

"What about you then?" she asked.

"Meh. It's mostly skateboarding…motorbikes…National Geographic…pizza…" he shrugged. "I don't really over think things. I just let life roll. Some people are deeper thinkers and stuff…not that I'm shallow or anything," he added. "I just don't wallow in my thoughts. There's always another pavement that needs to be skated on, or another magazine to buy, or another lonely pizza slice to be eaten."

"I just wish I could help him…" Gwen looked over at the tent.

"Well, he's had it pretty rough recently. You know, guys can be pretty self conscience, and random mutations don't help in the long run."

"I wish there was something I could do to help…"

"He'll come round," Mikey said confidently. "He's probably over thinking, and once he feels ready he'll get it _all_ off his chest, and we can move on with our lives – in the direction of the skate park."

Gwen laughed. "To do what?"

"Skate. What else is there to do?"

"Would there happen to be anyone particular there to watch?"

"Oho, I see what you're doing. I'm _so_ onto you. You're trying to make me admit to having a crush on someone."

"And don't you?"

Mikey flipped himself onto his back. "She's playing hard to get." He grumbled.

"Of _course_ she is." Gwen said with a superior smirk.

He chose to not point out that her expression was blatantly the one Kevin normally wore himself. "She'll come round. Eventually…she's just toying with me."

"If you insist." Gwen yawned widely. "Too bad you don't have a woman's help in this matter."

"Gwen!" Mikey rolled onto his front again and stared at her, aghast. "Are you suggesting that I get you to spy on her for me and get all the juicy information to make her fall for me like a rock off a bridge?"

"Well…" she waved her hand around in a vague circle. "Isn't that what most guys do?"

"No!" Mikey gave a throaty laugh, sounding more wolf like than before. "That's cheating. I'll use my masculine ways and my cute boyish charm," he stood up to shake the dust from his fur. "And _nothing_ else."

"Because you want the satisfaction of knowing you won her over on your own merits?"

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, scratch what I said before. Guy's don't think _that_ deeply." He licked her cheek before going to sit by the embers of the fire. "Chasing's half the fun."

---

Mikey stretched out in the backseat, luxuriating in the sensation of elbow room. Steph floated above somewhere on the wind, which meant that there were no heads to rip off for now. The conversation was somewhat lazy, and Mikey was tuned out until something hit the car and his seatbelt jammed.

"Ouch!"

"What is it?"

"Are those…_goats_?" Mikey asked, looking out of the window.

The whole car lurched.

"Bloody hell!"

Ben was laughing like a lunatic, so Mikey slapped him one.

"Hey,"

"This is no laughing matter!" Mikey hissed. "They can pick up a car! They're no higher than our knees! What do you think they'll do to us?!"

Something landed beside the car, which sent the aliens scattering for cover, giggling like mad. Steph spread her wings and screeched her defiance.

"Watch the paint," Kevin snapped at her through the open window.

"Screw you," she snapped back, taking off.

"Poor Steph," Mikey cooed. "It's not easy being a bird." He winced as Ben punched his arm. "Okay, _ouch_…"

When they got to the town centre, the Mayor was there to welcome them with lame excuses for what they had seen on their way in. Mikey wondered to himself if he should pounce on the man, but Kevin produced his badge and announced their position. Well, Mikey was really a Plumber _in training_ but he wasn't about to say that out loud in front of this man.

"Come on," Gwen began. "Ben,"

No response.

They all looked around, and Steph landed beside them. "He went that'a way," she nodded off to a side street. "And thanks for waiting."

"You didn't land," Kevin reminded her.

"Because I was keeping an eye on those…_things_,"

Mikey grabbed his skateboard from the boot of the car and threw it on the ground. "Okay people, let's roll," he kicked the ground to gain momentum. "I'm board of the town square now."

Ben had run off somewhere without them, something about this popcorn festival…Mikey needed to start paying attention to what the important people said. But that Mayor person had the sort of voice that sent him to sleep, just like his GCSE Geography teacher.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Kevin volunteered, setting off after Ben.

"Would you?" Gwen sighed.

Mikey nosed at her hand. "They've got it under control."

"Steph?" Gwen called up to the sky. "Can you keep an eye on _both_ of them for me?"

Steph vocalised her acknowledgment, and flew off after them.

Gwen sighed again, a rather melancholy sound.

"I'm still here," Mikey licked her hand.

"Excuse me?" came a quiet voice.

Mikey sniffed the air as another one of the alien college students slowly came over to them. He crouched down closer to the ground so he didn't tower of the alien, accustoming himself to the new smell. "What's your name?"

"Did Max Tennyson send you?" he sounded hopeful.

"Yes, he did." Gwen knelt down beside Mikey.

"My name is Orb," he continued.

"I'm Mikey, and this Gwen,"

"You were the one called for help?"

"Yeah. My friend Decka's missing,"

They agreed to go help look around the town, leaving the others to their own devices. Nose to the ground, Mikey trailed back and forth trying to catch a scent that would lead them to the missing alien.

---

Steph couldn't wrap her mind around anything that had happened in the last few hours. Solid gold faeces? Popcorn Festival?

Ben was helping himself to said popcorn, while Steph and Kevin looked on. The college students were swimming in a pool. Full of popcorn.

Could this day get any weirder?

Someone jumped in, and a wave of kernels engulfed them momentarily.

"I've seen a lot of strange and messed up things," Kevin wiped them from his hair.

Steph couldn't bring herself to say anything. She wondered if her brain was refusing to compute because this all seemed less likely than the situation when her father had come home after nearly sixteen years absence. She was _almost_ as incredulous as she had been then, just a little bit more so.

"How does this rank?" Ben asked, stuffing his face.

"It's up there," Kevin left them to wonder, but knowing him, Steph didn't _want _to know. The few stories he had told her were enough to stave off her curiosity.

"I dunno," Ben shrugged, munching through a pile of popcorn. "It seems pretty laid back for Spring Break."

"If something goes wrong," Steph threatened, snapping at a student who tried to grab at her tail feathers. "I'll gut you like a fish."

"What kind?" Kevin turned to look at her.

"I'm thinking Coho Salmon? River showed me how to gut an fillet them."

"Cool," he began, but he was cut off by a sudden commotion.

"Everybody, tip the house!" was the general consensus.

"Ben," Steph narrowed her eyes at him as he and Kevin got up to go and minimise the damage. "I'm going to _greatly_ enjoy gutting you like the pathetic minnow you are."

"I call shot gun," Kevin broke into a run.

"Hey!" Steph took to the air. "That's not fair,"

---

After hours of aimless wondering, Gwen agreed with Mikey it was a lost cause.

For now, at least.

They couldn't find Decka without the other's help, and apparently the others couldn't fend off a few dozen college students without them. Gwen felt like beating her head against a brick wall for all the good they were doing. This mission was turning out to be a real flop.

All over a popcorn festival, too. And they really harvested gold from it? That was _so_ wrong on too many levels to even count.

"I can't believe that guy's just _letting_ them wreck the place!" Steph fumed, flapping her wings so hard she kicked up a dust storm.

Mikey sneezed loudly, and raised a paw to scratch his nose. "I wish Mr Kendrick let _us_ do that on our last day of school…"

"Didn't you, though?" Steph asked, nipping his ear in a friendly gesture.

"No," he stretched his front legs out, yawning. "That was a group of guys from the football team destroying the pavilion kitchen at the Year 11 Water Fight."

"Aww," Steph groaned. "Your year had _water bombs_! _We_ weren't allowed water bombs."

"Getting back on track," Ben said irritably.

Mikey stood up to his full height, towering over Ben's head with a sarcastic look in his eyes.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," Steph snapped.

"Well, if we all spilt up and look, I'm sure we'll find him," Ben soothed.

"The Mayor said he's probably gone home," Mikey pointed out.

"Without telling me?" Orb demanded.

"It would make me a sad Avis if you took off without telling _me_," Steph whimpered pitifully.

Mikey pounced and got his teeth around her neck.

"Guys!" Gwen had to shout to make herself heard. They stopped mid attack, and broke apart. "Let's split up and look. If he's still here, we're more likely to find him if we spread out,"

"I'm with Gwen," Steph said immediately.

"Why?" Mikey asked.

"It's better than hanging round with you dorks," she muttered.

"Fine!" Mikey sprang to his fee and stalked off towards the cornfield by the damaged building. "C'mon, guys. Let's leave the girls to it. We know when we're not wanted!" he added loudly as Steph flexed her wings with a steely glint in her eyes.

Ben sighed, rolled his eyes, shook his head, and trudged after Mikey's retreating back.

Kevin turned to follow without hesitation, and Gwen felt her heart sink.

"I'll go to," he began.

"Kevin,"

He stopped mid step, but didn't turn to look at her, which hurt.

"Are you avoiding me?" Gwen blurted out before she could check herself. Almost immediately she wished she had said nothing, but she couldn't retract her words. Instead, she waited for his response, what ever it may be.

"No!" he laughed, turning to look at her briefly before heading off after Ben. "I just _love_ hanging out with your cousin." The sincerity in his voice didn't meet his eyes, and Gwen felt like sighing in exasperation except she was feeling troubled by his actions and his reactions.

The boys disappeared into the field, and Gwen felt something in her hair, along with a familiar cooing noise.

Steph wiped her beak in Gwen's ponytail and brushed her wings against her cheek. "He's been acting weird for a couple of days now. It's nothing personal,"

Gwen swallowed against the sour taste that coated her throat, and bit her lip.

"Come on," Steph nudged her forward towards the ruined building. "Lost alien's don't find themselves, you know."

---

Ben was suspicious.

Not just of the Mayor guy who kept trying to persuade them there was nothing to see and they should all go home. Kevin had been acting weird for a while now, and it looked as though he was trying to avoid Gwen at every opportunity. Before Vilgax reared his ugly head into their lives again – before the accident – Kevin would have used any excuse to spend time with her. Now…

Mikey ran back and forth across the field, nose to the ground and tail in the air so they could see where he was going. With the girl's out of sight, and Mikey running ahead of them out of earshot, Ben decided to find out what was up with Kevin.

If not himself and the team, then for his cousin.

"That's the second time you've ditched her." He stated in such a blunt tone that Steph would have been proud enough to hug him. Almost.

Kevin said nothing, just kept ploughing ahead through the field.

Ben would have to ask outright. "Did you two have a fight?" he demanded to know.

Kevin turned to look at him irritably, and Ben quailed against his resentment. "If we did, would I talk to _you_ about it?"

Ben stopped in his tracks and Kevin went on ahead without him.

He hadn't expected that kind of response, and realised he should have just left the subject where it had been. "Okay…" he said to himself, not sure what else to do.

Mikey nosed his way over to him, and sat back on his haunches. "You just put your foot in it, didn't you?"

Ben sighed. "Yup."

"Word of advice," Mikey stood up and slowly padded off in Kevin's wake. "If you haven't got a clever thing to say, maybe you should say nothing at all."

"Argh!" Ben grumbled, throwing his hands into the air. "First Mel, then River, now _you_!"

Mikey jumped into the air, bucking his hind legs like a playful horse. "That's the way of the world. Mel and River aren't here, and so it falls upon my shoulder's to be the annoyingly cryptic oracle of fate!"

Ben tried to ignore him as they rummaged around the town, but they ended up talking about sport after two hours of fruitless searching. Mikey tried to drag Kevin into it too, but he resisted all attempts of verbal communication, so Mikey gave up with dignity – and pounced on Ben instead before running off to investigate a back alley.

When the sun was setting, they made their way to where the college students were congregating in preparation to go home. Gwen and Steph were already there with Orb, watching the aliens go by one by one as though Decka would by somewhere among the masses.

From the way Gwen was leaning against Steph, who in turn was dropping on the spot with her feathers looking particularly bedraggled, they had lost most if not all hope.

Mikey licked her cheek and Steph's beak in welcome, but their reply was listless. Gwen looked…depressed. Steph had a wing draped across her shoulders, and Mikey laid down by her feet with a tired 'huff', picking up on her sombre mood.

Kevin watched the alien's go by without a second glance at the others, which angered Ben. Weren't those two supposed to be together? Why was there so much tension in the air around them?

He was outraged with Kevin on Gwen's behalf: screw what had happened five years ago, when it came to his family, Ben wouldn't be inclined to be so forgiving.

Either Kevin didn't notice the death glare Ben was giving him, or he just chose not to care. Whatever the reason, Mikey was the one who broke the silence.

"I take it you girls failed as miserably as us?"

"Yup," Steph said glumly.

"I told you," everyone jumped as Mayor Coleman came out of nowhere. "He's already gone home. There's no point wasting time here any longer,"

Once he was gone, and low snarl rippled from Mikey's throat, along with a few choice curses and swear words. "There's something wrong here. Why is he so determined to get rid of us?"

"My thoughts exactly," Ben agreed.

"Well, that's the last one," Kevin watched the rocket fade into the twilit sky.

"And yet there are two capsules left." Steph pointed out.

"I have an idea," Gwen stepped forward. "Which is yours?" she asked Orb, going to the one that he had not pointed to.

"If his ship is here, he _has_ to be around somewhere!" Orb said in a tone torn between hope and desperation.

Gwen placed her hand against the capsule, and her eyes glowed for a moment. Mikey went to get a good sniff as well, and his ears pricked up instantly.

"Got him," Gwen smiled grimly. "He's in the town alright."

"I remember this scent." Mikey said quickly. "It was all over the Mayor's suit."

"He must have kidnapped Decka!" Orb was certain of it.

Ben was too. "Let's go," he motioned.

Gwen led the way, following the manna trail and leading the others. Steph kept an eye out from above, but reported back nothing too worrying. Mikey checked the scent in the barn that Gwen led them to against the one from the capsule, and nodded, satisfied.

"It's the same one. Good job, Gwen,"

"You too, Mikey," she scratched his ear absentmindedly.

Steph landed and changed back, sneaking forward with the rest of them. Inside they found nothing but stalls like a horse stable, and a mangled looking cage. Mikey tipped it over carefully, and stuck his nose inside. "He _was_ here, not that long ago…the bars look like something pushed against them really hard…"

"Like what?" Kevin knelt down for a closer look.

"Like something was too big for the cage and forced the bars apart."

"Like what?" Kevin repeated incredulously.

They heard a sharp noise like wood snapping, and everyone tensed. Kevin frowned, and went into one of the stalls that lay in shadow, opening his mouth to say something. The Mayor sprang out of the shadows with a laser gun, and they all dived for cover.

"See?" Kevin rounded on Gwen as they hid in another stall. "This is why everyone hates politicians!"

"It's more complex than that," Mikey pointed out. "You also have to consider that-"

"Can we discuss this later?" Gwen demanded.

"Sure thing," Mikey said, readying to spring. And spring he did, right into the Mayor's chest, knocking him flat on his back and sending the laser skidding across the wooden floor. Ben came forward to offer help, but apparently Mikey didn't need it; one paw pinned his right arm to the ground, while his other lay across the man's throat with the claws splayed out prominently. "One false move and your throat is _mine_," he snarled.

Kevin stamped on the laser gun before the Mayor had a chance to throw Mikey off. "Care to explain?" he asked sweetly. "Or do I have to set my dog on you?"

Mikey growled menacingly. Despite the earlier tension, Ben rolled his eyes, Steph snorted with laughter, and Gwen giggled. They were all sad, _sad_ people…

And Mayor Coleman _did_ explain himself: he had debts to pay, and keeping one of these alien's who produced solid gold as waste seemed like the perfect get out of jail card. Why were all these villains the same? Even Vilgax whom Mikey had dubbed Sir Squids-a-lot was better than dealing with this pathetic excuse of a felon.

"Oh no!" Orb cried, picking something off the dust-strewn floor.

Ben couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. A hunk of meat? What was so bad about a hunk of meat?

"You didn't feed him meat. _Tell_ me you didn't give him meat!"

Apparently, it _was_ so bad he had eaten meat. As if in response, the whole barn shuddered violently, and the roof was lifted away completely, showering splinters down on them.

It was like looking at the devil from cartoons: reddish fur, deep set bloodshot eyes with a tuft of white fur like a goatee, and horns. Everyone scattered to escape the cloven hand that smashed through the remainder of the beams and into their midst. Ben grabbed Orb and ran out the door behind Kevin and Gwen, who threw up a shield around them against the fractured wood that rained down on them. Mikey wasn't far behind, with the Mayor's suit firmly between his teeth and screaming his head off.

"What's going one!?" Kevin demanded to know once they were out of harms way.

Orb explained so briefly Ben wasn't sure he caught it all, or maybe he didn't hear because the Mayor was screaming. Mikey's ears were not visible against the fur on his head, and his tail flicked back and forth in an agitated way.

"Someone, _please_! Make him shut _up_," he whined.

Kevin leant over and smacked him one around the back of the head, and the man slumped to the ground in a cold stupor.

"Thank you!" Mikey groaned in relief, flexing his jaw. "He weighs a tonne, as well,"

"Kevin!" Gwen rounded on him.

"What? He's quiet and not going anywhere," Kevin said smoothly.

"You can't just go round hitting people like that!"

"It's okay," Mikey interjected, putting his body in-between them to keep the fight from escalating. "Kevin, grab something to bind him with and put him somewhere out of the way until it's safe. Gwen; you, Ben and I can go stop Decka from flattening the town. Steph? Keep a tab on him,"

Ben wrinkled his nose at him in displeasure. "Who made _you_ the leader?"

Another building close by collapsed, and the huge…_thing_ devoured the contents with apparent relish.

"You've got a better idea? Not trying to be sarcastic or anything, but I'd love to hear it,"

"Come on!" Gwen roughly pushed Ben after Decka.

Kevin hung back to deal with the Mayor, before joining the chase. He caught up when they reached the edge of a cornfield. Orb told them to watch out for more droppings. "In our primal form, instead of gold we produce uranium-1412,"

Steph seemed to understand, because her beak nearly hit the ground (but she was too tall to reach it easily). "That's got to be the most unstable isotope of uranium ever! All those loose neutrons," she looked aghast. "It should be so unstable a breath of air could make it explode!"

"Actually, that's a common misconception," Orb went on. "It will explode, but it's not on the same range as one of your nuclear bombs. You'll get a nasty bruise though…"

"Well, now that's cleared up," Kevin ran forth into the field before the others.

"_I'm_ not taking chances," Ben said indignantly, slapping the omnitrix and becoming Jetray. He thanked the Man upstairs for no letting the watch fail him this time. He launched himself into the air, and Steph followed not long after. Looking down, we saw Gwen and Mikey running side by side on her pink platforms with Orb on his back.

Something sparked below, and suddenly Steph and Ben were nearly knocked out of the air. Ben wobbled violently to gain balance again, while Steph plummeted for a few seconds before unfurling her wings and catching up updraft. Somewhere in the back of his mind Ben could appreciate the dynamics of her flying technique, which had vastly improved since Ian had showed up. The forefront of his mind was trying to work out what had hit them.

It suddenly clicked: Kevin had been propelled into the air by something, and he had a nasty feeling he knew what it was. Sod's Law, he was airborne again, and this time Ben heard his yell as he went flying through the air.

Steph dived to catch him, and she managed for a few seconds, but before Ben could swoop down to help, she lost her grip and Kevin was plummeting again. Somehow, Kevin managed to repeat his arc through the night air three more times in rapid succession before Steph managed to grab his foot and regain some altitude. Gwen changed her course to stand right beneath them, and Steph dropped Kevin like stone, the strain of carrying him evident in her face.

Kevin landed face down on Gwen's platform, and Ben swooped down to make sure he was okay. Steph found purchase on Mikey's hip bones, making him hiss, but there was no more room on the platform.

"Are you alright?" Gwen asked, helping Kevin to his feet.

"Yeah, completely fine!" he fumed, glaring back the way he had come. "I _like_ being blown up!" he rounded on Steph, "Or being dropped!"

"Hey!" Steph glowered. "I'm not saying you're fat, but you're no pixie either. And you haven't got a shirt or something I can get my claws into."

A loud wrenching sound reached them from across the field, and they looked up to see Decka fall upon a power plant. Judging by the look on Orb's face, Ben took it that this was really bad.

"We have to stop him!"

"That's what we're _trying_ to do," Mikey shifted uncomfortably. "Steph, kindly get your talons out of my behind, it _hurts_!"

She pushed away and flapped her wings to remain in the air, circling them. "Come on Ben, we'll go on ahead,"

They both left the others the reach them on foot – albeit in the air on floating platforms made from energy.

Steph tried to distract Decka until they got there, and Ben floated above trying to analyse the situation. He noticed the others when Orb attempted the tried and tested method of getting through to the heart of the person to make them no longer a monster. Gwen had to sweep him out of the way to avoid getting hit.

---

Mikey danced in and around Decka's feet, trying to draw attention to himself and away from the power plant. Multiple walking dustbins one legs with a ravenous appetite, considering they had difficulty keeping _one_ under control, was a scary thought.

He was pulled up short when Ben changed into Echo Echo and began to multiply himself, jumping up into Decka's mouth.

Mikey howled in surprise and ran out of the way back to the safety of Gwen's shield. "What is he doing?!"

"I don't know!" Gwen fretted, looking as though she were about to run after Ben and drag him out of the alien's mouth.

"How is that going to work?" Kevin asked.

"You said something about…" Steph frowned down at Orb in confusion. "Silicon?"

"We can't digest it," he replied.

"Huh," Steph nodded, before freezing in her place. "Oh." She looked mortified. "That's _gross_!"

"So what's Lord Benjamin's master plan?" Kevin said sarcastically.

"Make Decka puke everything up so he reverts," Steph said shortly. "Brave, brave, _stupid_ Ben."

Even thinking about it made him want to wretch, so Mikey crouched down behind Gwen and her shield. "You might want to make that bigger," he mentioned.

Her hands waved through the air, and they were enveloped in a dome of pink energy. No sooner had she reinforced the shield, their vision was blurred by something disgustingly icky that made Mikey hide his nose in his paws to keep his from throwing up. He had never had the strongest stomach in the world…not that he was weak, but he could only stand so much.

When it was over, the shield went down, and Gwen ran forward to find Ben, and Mikey trotted after her with Orb perched on his shoulders.

Poor Ben was lying in a pool of alien sick, slowly pulling himself to his feet. "Eww," he complained, brushing some from his sleeve. "That's gross…"

Orb bounced from Mikey's back to the ground and ran to another sorry looking form amid the mess "Decka!"

"Can we wrap up and go home now?" Mikey moaned, stilling his stomach and licking Ben's cheek clean. "I have a date with my pillow to keep,"

---

Operation: Wrap Up was smooth and rather dull.

They retrieved Mayor Coleman and Mikey got a good grip on the bounds before lifting the man into the air and stalking off back to the car, growling menacingly. Gwen had used a quick spell to clean Ben and Decka up before the two friends got into their ships.

Decka glared at the Mayor and said, "I'm going to tell _everyone_ not to come back here again!"

Mikey decided to drop him and go sit by the car. "There's no room for all of us."

"We can wing it," Steph said confidently, leaning against the car door like a human beanpole.

"_You_ can," Mikey pointed out. "We lesser life forms who lack wings have to run,"

"You'll be fine," Ben said, unconcerned.

Steph and Mikey glared a hole through the back of his head as he forced the Mayor into the backseat.

"I need a drink before we go," Mikey set off to the sprinkler system on the lawn across the road, and Steph slumped against the car, looking bored and tired.

Kevin felt the knot in his stomach tighten as Gwen's arm brushed against his. He had tried all day long to gather up what little courage he had to face her, and each time she had stressed the issue, it had dissipated at the expression on her face.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently.

He forced himself to meet her eyes. "Do we have to talk about it?" he was a stalling coward, but her voice was soothing and he clung to the sound for comfort.

"Not if you don't want to," she promised, reaching for his hand.

"Here," he took the locket he had been holding onto all day and placed it in her hands before she could do anything. "This is from…" he trailed away as she opened it.

"That day at the pier," she said, wide eyed.

He wanted to smile, that she had remembered. But his face didn't respond to the command. Instead, he tried to convey his feelings to her, to make her understand how he felt. "I wanted you to having something to remember me by." He took a deep breath. "The way I used to look."

Gwen raised her face to look at him, and his stomach did a few back flips at the expression he saw there.

"Kevin," she said softly. "You know I don't care what you look like,"

"Maybe," he didn't have the strength to argue with her right now, and anyway, he knew she would win because he couldn't resist her. "But I do," he turned away from her, unable to meet her gaze any longer.

There, he had done it.

And he didn't feel any better for it.

As the days dragged by, he wondered if he really should go to River and ask for help. After all, that's what she said she was there for, wasn't it?

The moment was shattered when Ben leant forward and hit the horn. "Hello!" he called. "Mr Smoothies!" He was just as fed up with this mission as Kevin was.

Mikey trotted by as they walked to the car, but didn't say anything when he saw their faces.

"We're going to travel solo," Steph said.

"Woot," Mikey yawned. "What I wouldn't give for my pillow."

Kevin ignored the speed limits and gave Mikey a hard time keeping up, but eventually he patched through on his badge and said he'd go at his own pace and meet them tomorrow. Steph likewise spoke up, though it was to say she'd fly on ahead and get Max ready to take the Mayor into custody.

After that, things were pretty easy; they dropped Mayor Coleman off with Max, Ben was kicked out at Mr Smoothies, and Kevin drove Gwen home. He pulled up outside her house, and waited for the door to open. Gwen made no move to get out, and he poked her in the ribs.

"Gwen?"

"Mmm," she shifted in her seat before becoming still again.

She was fast asleep.

Kevin bit his lip, wondering how he would be received by Frank Tennyson, dragging his daughter's unconscious body into the house well after curfew.

For Gwen's sake, he risked her father's wrath and carefully unbuckled her seatbelt and went round to the other side of the car, putting on the ID Mask as he did so. Gently, he took her into his arms and up the path to the front door, managing to ring the bell.

His worst fears were realised when the door opened and Gwen's father stood on the threshold, frowning like thunder. "And _where_ do you think you've been?" he demanded.

"We had a mission," Kevin began.

"Oh yes?" he replied sceptically.

"Yeah. We only just got back, and Gwen fell asleep in the car, and…I didn't want to wake her up." It had sounded so plausible in his head, until he met the unwavering stare of a father on the warpath.

If _he_ had a teenaged daughter who was out a lot with a boy of dubious reputation, Kevin would have slaughtered him on the spot.

"Frank," Gwen's mother appeared over his shoulder. "I was just talking to your father. He said Kevin would be here in a – oh, hello Kevin," she smiled warmly. "Bring her in," she pushed Frank out of the way. "He'd like a word with you," she thrust the phone into her husband's hands. "Could you take Gwen upstairs for me? I'll be there in a moment,"

Kevin practically ran for the stairs to get out of her father's way, and slowed his pace once he was on the landing. Gwen somehow managed to sleep on through it all, and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips. As much as it hurt his bad boy image to admit it, she was adorable when she was fast asleep and oblivious to the world.

He nudged her bedroom door open and crossed to the bed. Surprisingly for her, it wasn't made, so he laid her down and slipped her shoes off before tucking the duvet around her.

Gwen's head lay to one side, her ponytail all skewiff from sleeping in the car, and the locket he had given her around her neck.

Kevin wished he could put his thoughts into words; it would make both their lives so much easier, but he just couldn't get his tongue around them. It was easy to pretend that she meant every word when she said she didn't care he looked so deformed, but he couldn't be sure she was being truthful. Still, her acceptance of the locket eased some of the pain he felt, and at least she understood some of how he felt.

He leant down and pressed his lips to hers for a moment before standing up to leave. She stirred, and her hand reached out in the dim light of the room. "Kevin?" she murmured softly, voice heavy with sleep.

He sat down again and took her wandering in both of his. "You're home now,"

"I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked sleepily, eyes still closed.

"I promise,"

Gwen sat up haphazardly and opened her bleary eyes before pulling him into a hug. Kevin buried his nose in her hair, letting her presence sooth his anguish. She eventually pulled away, and curled up under the duvet, and Kevin gave her one last look before kissing her cheek and getting up again.

Lily Tennyson smiled at him as he went down the stairs and said, "Good night,"

"G'night," he said hastily, trying to make it to the front door unseen.

"Just a moment,"

He skidded to a halt on the wooden floor and turned to look Frank in the face. Never in all his years had Kevin met anything that was scarier than an enraged father looking out for his little girl.

"I've been talking to Magister Tennyson," he stressed his father's title.

Kevin gulped.

"And I'm letting you off this time. But if you ever bring my daughter back after curfew again, there will be hell to pay. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," he normally wasn't so polite to adults, but again he did it for Gwen. He was already in her father's bad books without making things worse with his attitude.

"Go home," Frank dismissed him, and Kevin made for the door.

In his car, found his phone and texted his mother to say he would be home shortly. He started the car up without waiting for a reply, and drove home. It was only when he was opening the front door that he realised he was in even more trouble than he had thought. Cain stormed out of the kitchen and demanded to know where Kevin had been.

"I told you, I was on a mission." Kevin said through gritted teeth.

"And missing your sister's first hockey match?" Cain shouted.

"It wasn't my fault!" he tried to keep a handle on his temper. So far, he had managed to get by without any incidents for the last year or so by ignoring his stepfather's presence. Getting angry was what had made Kevin run away in the first place, and it would kill his mother if he ended up in the Null Void again. He couldn't break her heart, not again; but Cain was making his blood boil.

"It's always Plumber's business," Cain sniffed with disdain, blocking the way to the basement. "I'm sick of hearing about it. You're failing at school, you hang around with those other teenagers, probably all drug dealers…"

Kevin closed his eyes and counted to ten, trying to keep his temper under control. He had completely forgotten Crystal's match; she wouldn't hold it against him, but Cain would. He pushed Cain out of the way and stalked downstairs.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" Cain shouted after him.

Kevin felt something snap. He had had enough of this.

He paused long enough to grab a couple of things from his room and throw them into his rucksack before going back upstairs. Cain tried to block his way again, but Kevin gave him another shove and walked straight through the front door.

Cain was shouting at his retreating back, but Kevin was already in his car and driving down the road.

---

River was on her laptop, typing up another essay style document on another case study she had read, and felt like taking Taylor's lucky baseball bat to her superiors. It was a complete waste of time, and she had signed off MSN Messenger to work without interruption, though Taylor sent her texts every five minutes. It was a welcome distraction from her tedious task, and she ended up daydreaming about Vancouver Island and Victoria. She sighed, and stared at the screen before her blankly.

There was a knock at the door, which made her jump right out of her skin; she wasn't expecting a visitor…

River jumped off the bed and went to the front door, wondering who could be calling at this hour.

Kevin was standing on the threshold, looking extremely agitated.

"Hello," she said uncertainly. "Is everything alright?"

"No," he said heatedly.

"Come in," she stepped out of the way and closed the door behind him.

Kevin threw himself onto the sofa and exhaled loudly.

"What's wrong?" she asked, guessing it had something to do with home. Sure, Steph could be a right bitch, and Mikey and Ben were just as bad, but Kevin should know better than to let those three wind him up like this. Her guess was that he'd gone home and the stormed off in a temper; knowing that idiot of a stepfather as much as she did…

"I don't want to talk about it." Kevin snapped.

"Well, I have a report to write up, so I'll leave you here for a moment. Did you want to crash for the night?"

His tone swiftly changed from livid to grateful. "Thank you,"

"No problem," she gave him the thumbs up. "Bathroom's through here, and I'll be here if you need me. We can talk in the morning."

Five minutes of more typing eradicated her remaining brain cells, so River killed the laptop and went to get a drink. Kevin was fast asleep, sprawled across the couch. River fought not to roll her eyes and smile at the sight. Yeah, sure, she knew his past, and his personality, and the many directions he could go now, but he was still only a child. No one should have to put up with that all in one lifetime.

Gently, River took the ID Mask and placed it on the coffee table to spare him a headache in the morning, and took the spare blanket from the cupboard. She draped it over him, and let him sleep off whatever it was that had driven him to seek shelter in her bungalow. He was too proud and stubborn to admit he needed help, but at least he showed he trusted her enough to come here when he needed support, even if he wouldn't say so.

River would sleep on this and think in the morning, all that paper work had given her a headache. After checking on Kevin one last time, she crawled under her thick patchwork blanket and closed her eyes. She'd sleep on it and figure out what to do tomorrow.

---

**Woot! I think the ending was a let down…I REALLY need to work on that… also, in my last story I sort of massively skipped big parts of episodes to make the chapters shorter, and here I tried to stick to the whole thing, and I dunno if it dragged too much or there was too little/much detail. Calling out an SOS here people :S help me!!!**

**And have a WONDERFUL Easter ;) I know I will with my iddy biddy widdle godson who likes to pull my hair xD deep down, I'm sure he really loves me…**

**xxx**


	12. Advice

**AN: and revision's killing my remaining brain cells and I need a break and I feel like throwing something against a wall. Blargh is the only word to describe my emotions at this moment in time.**

**Okay! I read and reread your reviews and all criticisms have been duly noted down and I shall endeavour to keep these in mind in all following chapters. I really appreciate that you took a moment to type out what you thought of the last chapter, I was SO stuck on that one :S everyone have a free virtual banquet! And a smoothie to go, any flavour you like! ;)**

**Hopefully, this will be better than the last, but be sure to let me know**

_**Advice**_

When Kevin opened his eyes, he wondered vaguely why he wasn't looking at the wall since he was lying on his right side. Sitting up, he found himself on River's sofa, and then the memories of last night's little tiff with Cain came flooding back.

Lying back down again, he glared at the ceiling, trying to get a handle on his resentment. He didn't notice River had entered the room until something hit him in the face. Sitting up again, he saw it was a towel.

"Good morning," River said in a non-committally cheerful tone.

"Morning," he said dully.

"Do you want breakfast? Or maybe a shower first?"

He accepted, thankful to have a moment to be alone and calm down. When he came back into the front room, River was digging into a bowl of cereal with what looked like fruit juice instead of milk.

"Breakfast? I'm afraid my toaster is, well…toast. But I have a wide range of cereals and cereal bars to chose from,"

She pointed to a shelf above the tiny sink, and motioned for him to help himself. Her offhand manner was somewhat soothing, since she didn't seem to care when he took more than one; her reasoning must have been something along the lines of him being a 'growing boy' or whatever.

He _was_ pretty hungry, though…

"Okay," River said, setting her bowl aside once Kevin was settled on the sofa again. "Is there anything you would like to talk to me about?"

He exhaled sharply, unable to stop himself, and shoved a breakfast bar into his mouth to avoid saying anything.

"Like I said before," River told him in a level tone. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

Kevin deliberated over his mouthful before swallowing it, and hopefully his nerves along with it, before he spoke again. "I got back home late last night." He stopped.

"Yeah," River commented, her nose wrinkling slightly as she smiled. "Something about a popcorn festival? And I thought the yobs in Portsmouth were mental…"

"Hmm."

"Go on," she encouraged.

"I sort of forgot my little sister had her first hockey match yesterday afternoon. But I was too far away to get back in time, and we had a job to do, and I couldn't leave the others out there without transportation, and-"

River held her hands up, effectively silencing him.

"Okay, honey? I get the point; it was unavoidable. You're not on trial here. I'm sure your sister will understand how important your job is if you explain to her…how old is she?"

"Eight."

"So she's old enough to appreciate how imperative it is that you go on these missions. And anyway, eight is a bit young to start holding grudges…"

"It's not that," Kevin snapped. "Well, half anyway."

"So what's the other half?"

Kevin gritted his teeth and said, "My stepfather."

"Ah," River's expression changed subtly. From being open and honest, it suddenly became closed off and cautious, though none of the muscles in her cheeks seemed to move. Her eyes were not quite distant, but they were cut off, like she didn't want him to see what she was thinking.

He glared at her defiantly, and she sighed, rubbing her temples.

"I guess that says a lot." Was her response.

"He had a go at me about it." Kevin seethed. "And then he was going on about my friends and how he reckoned they were all-" he stopped himself before he said anything.

Much as Cain deserved it, Kevin was above telling tales unless it was on Steph, in which case it was fair game.

"And what did he say about your friends?"

Kevin clammed up completely.

"Was he insulting them? Did he say something inappropriate that you don't want to repeat to me?"

"Insulting." He admitted.

"Kevin," River sat up straighter and turned to fully look him in the face. "If it's telling tales on people that you're worried about, what's said within these four walls _stays_ within these four walls. You have my word on that."

Her expression had shifted yet again, to one he couldn't identify.

Whatever it was, he felt like he could hold her to her word.

"He said things like they were all druggies, and other stuff I wasn't really listening to…he was so mad at me I just wanted to get out of the house." Kevin hung his head in shame. If he had been stronger, he might have hung back and given Cain a piece of his mind, try and set things straight, but no; he'd taken the easy option out by running away, which was what he had done the first time round. Look where that had landed him…

"Might I just throw my own thoughts into this for a moment?" River asked.

Kevin shrugged. Might as well…

"Seems to me like your stepfather isn't the most accepting of people." She began.

Kevin snorted. That was putting it _very_ mildly, to say the very, _very_ least.

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth for a moment before she went on. "He strikes me as the sort of person who likes to be in control, know exactly where everyone is and what they are doing at any given time. Then along comes you; young, headstrong, with a very unpredictable timetable, and you throw his agenda out the window, because even you don't know where you'll be in the next five minutes, let alone tomorrow or next week."

"He blames me for everything." Kevin glowered at the coffee table.

"You know what?"

He looked at her questioningly.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you. But you have to promise me you won't repeat this to anyone. Especially your mother." She looked dead serious; not a trace of humour in the lines of her face, or her eyes, which seemed to flash blue in the light from the window.

"Okay?" he answered uncertainly.

"I think," she paused for a moment, as though she were choosing her words with the utmost care. "I think Cain feel's threatened by you. I don't mean because you could quite happily kick his butt around town should you ever feel so inclined, because I know you could, but you're more civilised than that. What I mean is; you're still a link to the man your mother loved and married, even if he is missing and hasn't been seen or heard from for years, _you_ are still a reminder of that relationship. I get the feeling that Cain doesn't like competition, and his way of dealing with it was to try and squash you down so you didn't get in the way. After you ran away, I can only guess how he felt, and I may be wrong. But the moment you set foot in the house after four years, he suddenly had to deal with it all over again. Only this time, you were much older and able to cope with whatever he threw at you, so the only way to get at you was to pick up on such things like this, things that are unavoidable. And he's probably more than a little bit jealous, too."

"Jealous?" Kevin couldn't believe his ears. "What's he got to be jealous of?"

"Think about it," River said, like it was a very simple concept. "You may be young, but you've done remarkably well considering that the Null Void is not the best place for a child to be. And you managed to get out of there, _legally_ I might add, and you were willing to start afresh. And you also drew your mother's attention away from _him_, so we're back to the jealousy. If he had his own way with the world, I reckon you'd be shoved in a box and dropped off Hover Dam and he'd have your mother's undivided attention until the end of time and space."

Kevin stared at her in amazement.

He had _never _thought of it like that before. And yet, it all made sense; that sounded like Cain in a nutshell. There was just one thing…

"How do you know that?"

"Remember what Steph told you about me? I can tell a lot about someone by looking into their eyes. It's not quite the same as soul melding, but it's still quite informative."

That gave Kevin the creeps; how much could she tell about him?

"And judging from the look on your face, I just freaked you out," she said conversationally.

"If you met someone who could tell a lot about you just by looking at you, wouldn't _you_ be freaked out as well?" Kevin retorted.

River shrugged. "Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. And _my,_ did that scare the hell out of me."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I used to go to the chiropractic clinic in Southsea, and this guy who worked there had the brightest blue eyes you've ever seen. Brighter than Steph and Mel's, that's saying something. He was kind person, he always listened, and I used to sit and talk to him for a bit after my appointment because I always went at the end of the day. He always treated me like a child, but I didn't mind so much really except that I was approaching being an adult, but I never said anything to him. After my car crash, I went to see him again, and the way he treated me was very different. Afterwards, Mel told me that he had seen the change in my eyes." She shrugged. "Lea's got a theory on that. He seems to think my first soul moved on and I acquired a new one while I was in my coma, which is why the chiropractor started treating me like I was an equal."

Kevin frowned, unable to get to grips with what she was saying. "I don't understand."

River laughed, but it was a soothing sound that didn't affront him. "I was so naïve when I was your age. Most people would have you believe that the accident changed my mentality, my whole personality even. But not much really did change, except that I felt calmer, I was less impatient, and…I felt a lot happier with life. Apart from that, I was as mad before as I was after I left hospital. Add me on Facebook and check out my profile. You'll understand what I mean. Another thing is that I've learned to recognise certain traits in people and link them to what I know about that person. That's how I made the connection from what I had experienced of your stepfather, and what I knew of him."

Kevin stared at her in amazement.

"Kevin, you're a human, not a goldfish," she said, mildly amused.

He snapped his jaw shut. "You creep me out,"

"Yeah, I get that a lot," she shrugged again. "There comes a point in ones life when you just stop caring."

Curious as ever, Kevin wanted to ask, but he was afraid of the answer.

"Something's bugging you." River commented.

"How can you tell?" he asked in defiance.

"You're fidgeting likes there's no tomorrow," she nodded at a cushion beside him.

Looking down, Kevin saw that he had been pulling the tassels out of one of the corners. "Sorry," he dropped it instantly.

"Don't worry," she waved it away with a vague gesture, the way Steph did when she couldn't care less about something. "It's only a cushion. And I suppose I'm the one bugging you," River stated simply.

"Is there anyone you _don't_ creep out?"

"Maybe. And maybe not. Rain is wet; who am I to judge?"

"Erm…" he stared at her blankly.

"Not everyone believes in this superstitious crap. I didn't until after the car crash, and met Mel. Then I swanned off to Canada to go backpacking, and I met Taylor and his great grandfather. The scariest thing was that they caught on before I did,"

"On to what?" Kevin asked.

"Well, there's a theory that, if you believe it, every thing alive has a special energy to it which is what we call their soul or spirit. When the vessel for that energy dies, the spirit migrates to a new vessel. I'm only telling you this because I get the feeling you're one of the few people in the world who'll understand."

"But I don't," he said stubbornly.

"You're more open minded than you think." River stated, which left him thinking deeply again. "When a soul has learned what it needs to, it won't come back to another body. It just…goes on, I suppose."

"Goes on?" he tried not to sound too sarcastic.

"I don't know what happens." She said simply. "All I know is that I was once young and naïve, and then after my coma, I was suddenly much more mature. And everywhere I went after that, _déjà vu _was pretty much the way to explain my life. I met loads of people everywhere I went, and they all seemed to know before I did that they had met me before."

"So…you knew those _people_ or their souls?" he asked outright. As much as he wanted to disclaim the fact, he knew he believed every word she said.

"I knew the people that the souls had been, if that's what you mean." River's expression was crystal clear and yet so hard to decipher. "I knew Taylor before, of that I'm certain. And Mel, Gods bless her. The funniest thing is, I've seen that look on Ben's face somewhere before too, but I can't place It." She looked thoughtful.

"What about me?" Kevin blurted out before he could check himself.

He winced as a slight frown came to her eyes. "Yes…" she said slowly. "You strike a chord somewhere too. I can't place it, but I've seen the look on _your_ face too."

It was a weird thought, that in some other life he had known River, but as mental as it seemed, he still trusted her; her expression was still open and honest, even if he couldn't quite read it.

"So, going back to Cain," Kevin pulled a face, which River smiled at but otherwise ignored. "I really think it's his problem and not yours."

"What do you mean? I walked out again, didn't I?" Kevin demanded. He wanted to add _just like last time_, but his nerve failed him.

"Honey," she said gently. "You did the right thing by walking away." She raised a hand when he tried to interrupt. "Just hear me out. You could have stood there and screamed at him till you were blue in the face, he probably deserves it. But you decided to take yourself out of the equation until you had calmed yourself down, and talked to someone about it. Sometimes, giving up and walking away isn't being weak; it means you are strong enough to let it go, whatever it may be, until you're ready to face it."

"How is running away showing you're strong?" he didn't want to believe what she was saying.

"Well, let's put it this way. You could quite easily kill him if you really wanted to."

That stopped Kevin dead in his tracks; he was shocked beyond belief that she would say such a thing out loud.

"But you choose not to. He was the one who picked a fight; he's the one who wouldn't let it drop. You were the one who walked away from a pointless fight, _you_ were the one who let go."

Kevin was staring at the floor, not meeting her gaze. He felt her finger's underneath his chin, and reluctantly let her raise his face so it was level with hers. Her eyes definitely _were_ blue now.

"What do you think that says about Cain as a person?" she asked.

"That he's a…" he used some of Steph's favourite cusses, and River rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to let that one slide," she told him. "But I don't really want to hear that kind of language from you on a regular basis, okay?"

He nodded stoically.

"You proved you were the better man by just walking away. There's really nothing else to it; I would have done the same thing in that position, rather than put up with that crap."

A howling noise interrupted the silence that followed.

River sighed, and pulled her phone out of her pocket. "I really need a new ring tone." She checked the message, and growled to herself. "Lea…"

Kevin shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"He's going to die." She said, getting up to flick the kettle to life. "Tea or coffee?"

"Coffee,"

It was surprisingly peaceful while River bustled around making drinks. When she poured them into separate mugs, she sat down next to him and offered a white mug with a red cross on one side.

"Can we talk about something else?" he asked, chugging the drink and scolding his tongue.

River stared at the ceiling while Kevin attempted to cool his tongue.

"Lovely weather we're having," she said finally.

The inanity of her comment sent him over the edge; Kevin laughed until his sides ached. River was smiling at the ceiling when he finally calmed himself down.

"Once English, always English." She said serenely. "Weather is very topical in the mother land, it's always changing. And they only get one in ten weather reports right, or something like that…"

"I thought you loved Canada?" Kevin pressed.

"Meh," she shrugged, sipping her tea. "Washington and Oregon are nice too. That area of the coastline is beautiful. Don't get me wrong; I like Canada a lot, but BC's the place for me. Plus, England has a special place in my heart," she nodded solemnly. "It's where I grew up, and I still have friends there."

Kevin reflected on her words.

He couldn't say the same for the places _he_ had grown up in…still, he had his friends and family. He wondered why River had excluded the word just now, until he remembered that someone, probably Steph, had said she had been adopted.

"Even if I hate the government and many of the people I went to school with." River continued. "Oh well. Guess it takes all sorts."

"River?" Kevin asked tentatively.

"Yeah?" she looked up from her black and white mug.

"Thanks," he said simply. Her advice was helpful beyond belief, and relieving as well.

She smiled, and nodded. "Any time. You know where to find me."

---

Mikey was aware of many pairs of eyes watching him as he jumped from ramp to ramp, but he focused on only one.

After a long day of sourcing jobs and ending up with a paper delivery for the afternoon, starting next Monday, he had hit the skate park with a vengeance.

Gwen and Steph were seated at a bench someway off, going over some revision notes together, while Ben was getting a smoothie and planning on going to see Julie after her tennis practise. Kevin had been absent all day, so Mikey gave it up as a moot point. His brother and sister were out with Mel, and River was swanning off somewhere with her paperwork to file it.

But none of that really mattered.

What mattered was that one pair of eyes that he was concentrating on, that he could feel on his back as he jumped a rail and grinded down another.

Of all the girls he'd ever dated or hung out with, none of them compared to Sally Newman. And yet, she had to be one of the most stubborn, elusive, teasingly vague lasses he'd ever met.

If he was being honest with himself, he was currently showing off to try and impress her. It was vain of him, but hey – he was still a teenager. That's what they did all day long.

Luckily, he had his A Levels down, so he didn't need to go to school. That left him free to plot and plan all day long on how to get her to accept is offer to go out with him.

He was sure she was just playing hard to get, judging by the smirk on her lips every time she turned him down. Miley insisted part of his charm was his persistence; River and Lea had exchanged looks, coughed once, and said no more. That spoke volumes.

"Hey, Mikey!"

"Huh?" caught unawares, he turned his head to look behind him, and saw Kevin standing at the edge of the ramp.

With his eyes preoccupied by Kevin, Mikey missed the rail he was aiming for, and landed instead on a flat surface. Completely unprepared, he felt himself falling backwards as his skateboard went shooting forwards. Next thing he knew, he was staring at the sky, unable to breathe.

The onlookers laughed at his expense, and he jumped to his feet the moment he could force air back into his lungs.

"Tah-dah!" he bowed with a flourish. "Thank you for coming, you've been a wonderful audience," he picked up his skateboard and strolled over to Kevin. "You're a right bastard, have I ever told you that?" he asked conversationally, smiling brightly.

"Only yesterday," Kevin punched his arm playfully.

Mikey yelped, and pretended to limp back to the bench where Steph and Gwen were laughing at them. "Must it all end in violence?" he asked weakly.

"S'down!" Steph commanded, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him down onto the wooden bench. "Where the flip have _you_ been?" she demanded of Kevin.

"Around," he shrugged, dropping down beside Gwen and pulling out what looked like a battered old textbook.

"Hey," Mikey frowned, swiping it out of the boy's hands. "I recognise this! River used it to lecture me on matters that happen on a cellular level where you need an electron microscope with a something-something magnification to see!"

That had been a rather boring Christmas Holidays, unless you excluded when they all piled into Gerald's car and went off to the cinema to see Twilight. That had been a most awesome experience when they left the building and Lea had accidentally ended up head first in the sea. But apart from that, and Taylor's fish cakes, it had been a boring month.

"Yeah," Kevin said defensively, snatching it back. "So?"

"So?" Steph echoed. "So how come _you_ have it?"

Steph should remember that book better than anyone; Mikey had only beaten her round the head with it fifty-eight times (that he had counted).

"She lent it to me," Kevin snarled.

"Cool!" Mikey enthused. "Check out page thirty-eight, I wanna see something,"

Kevin flicked through the pages until he found the one Mikey was after.

"Um…" he stared at it blankly.

"Oh my _God_," Steph pulled it from his unresponsive hands. "Are you kidding me?"

"It's still there?" Mikey demanded to know.

"Look!" Steph thrust it in his face.

The page described the differences between Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes, with a diagram showing the various parts of a sperm cell and how they worked together to make it move, and how it fertilised an egg cell. Once upon a time, in a classroom far, far away, Mikey had drawn moustaches on the diagrams.

Apparently, River had yet to notice, or she didn't care in the slightest.

Knowing her, she had looked at it, laughed, and found something more interesting to waste her time on.

Gwen was looking at it with raised eyebrows. "Care to explain?" she asked in a flat tone.

"Nope," Steph beat Mikey to it.

"Well," he began, and quailed under her glare. "I got bored!" he defended himself. "Our teacher had the most boring voice! The sort where you listen and you just want to fall asleep and waste away the entire lesson having nightmares induced by the monotone that is his vocal communication communiqué."

Steph raised an eyebrow at him. "Would you care to shut up? For like, _five_ minutes?"

Mikey was about to make some witty come back in one of the few languages that he knew and she didn't, but he heard a familiar set of footsteps heading away from them, some way off, towards the car park. His ears pricked up and he turned in his seat to stare after the dark red hair streaked in black and white.

Steph punched him hard in the gut, and he yelped loudly.

"What! What did I do?"

"Don't _ignore_ me!" she whined, doing a bad impression of a lost puppy with those big wide eyes.

"Well," he pushed the book back into Kevin's hands and grabbed his skateboard. "I've got other stuff to do, so I'll be seeing you around," he threw it onto the ground and jumped in one movement from the bench to the board. "See ya later alligator!" he kicked at the ground to gain momentum.

"In a while, crocodile!" Gwen called after him.

Mikey kick flipped his board so that he spun in mid air, turning to face the retreating bench while still rolling forward. "See ya soon, blue baboon!" he waved cheerfully before performing the move again so he was facing forwards.

---

Gwen was glaring a hole in the back of Mikey's head, and Steph and Kevin were finding it hilarious.

Kevin thought he might actually die when Gwen stood up and started cursing him using Steph's favourite phrases; it was all the more funny because of the look of utter horror on Steph's face. Mikey leaned to the side and opened his mouth to throw a witty comment in her direction, before he ploughed into an open top car…with people inside it.

It took a moment for it all to sink in, but when it did, Kevin and Gwen were clinging to each other for support, choking back the waves of laughter as Mikey picked himself up and apologised profusely before scuttling off into the shadows, face bright red. At least, that's what Kevin assumed he could see, through the haze of tears that pooled in the corners of his eyes.

Eventually, they calmed down enough to look at Steph, and Kevin couldn't stop himself from laughing again at her expression.

"What?" Gwen asked, stunned.

"Okay, I've just compiled this list," Steph pretended to look at a clipboard and tick imaginary boxes in midair. "Firstly, you swore, which is something you _never_ do, even when Ben is at his most annoying – _may he burn in hell the __**bastard.**_Secondly, I didn't think Mikey rolling into someone's car was _that_ hilarious," Kevin snorted again with laughter, and felt a heavy textbook connect sharply with his nose. "And thirdly," she pulled a face. "Could you two _not_ be creepy like that? Seriously! You freak me out,"

Kevin rubbed his nose tenderly; sure, it was made of rock underneath the mask, but that didn't stop it from _hurting_. Just to piss Steph off, he grabbed Gwen round the waist and pulled her onto his lap, tucking her head underneath his chin and holding her close.

She squeaked in surprise, and half-heartedly tried to wriggle out of his arms, but he was gratified when she curled up against him.

"Who's my cuddle bug?" he asked in a phoney voice.

Gwen pulled away to look him full in the face, one dainty eyebrow raised in a sceptic arc over her eyes that were still bright with humour.

He looked up, grinning, and saw Steph's jaw try to dislocate itself so it could hit the ground.

She made a show of pulling her things together, shoving them in a rucksack, and edging away from the bench, eyes never leaving his face. He heard something along the lines of 'Eff this shit…' and she ran for her jeep, yelling over her shoulder, "Run away!"

Chuckling to himself, Kevin turned his full attention back on Gwen, who was staring at him like he was a piece of abstract art.

"Problem?" he asked, smirking at her.

"Um…" a slight frown tugged at her brow just as something else tugged at her lips. "Kevin?" she raised a hand to cup his cheek, and he leaned against it, closing his eyes with a sigh.

He missed moments like this.

"Yeah?"

"Cuddle-bug?" she said flatly.

He opened his eyes to look at her and grinned.

"Seriously?"

"Yup."

"What happened?" she murmured, all traces of humour gone. "Yesterday you were so…" she struggled to find the words.

Kevin sighed; there was no way he could hide it from her, even if he _really_ tried to.

"I've been talking to River." He paused.

"And?" she asked, stroking his cheek.

He sighed, closing his eyes again. "It's put things in perspective." He admitted.

More than that, she'd opened his eyes in a new way of looking at things. After their rambling conversation on politics and the weather, she'd talked about her take on the others in the team. A mere throwaway comment that River hadn't lingered on about Gwen had stuck in his mind, not the exact wording, but the general gist of it at least. She was the sort of person who subconsciously picked up on and reacted to other's emotions. It had got him thinking about how his mood swings had to be affecting her.

He also had a hunch that River knew she had got him thinking on a deep and meaningful level, but she hadn't said a word. Mostly she had complained about Lea, in the same way Kevin would go to Steph and complain about Ben.

"How do you feel?" Gwen asked gently.

He opened his eyes and looked into hers. Such a bright yet deep green…

"Okay," he admitted.

She brought his face down to her level, and kissed the tip of his nose. "I'm glad,"

Gwen snuggled up against his chest, burying her face in his shoulder. It felt nice to be able to hold her like this again; he almost missed it more than anything else. Trailing his fingers from her waist, up her spine to the nape of her neck, he felt something against her skin there. Turning his head to look down, he saw the chain from which hung the locket he had given her. A wave of emotion he didn't recognise crashed over him, and for one wild moment he wanted to push her away from him; he just couldn't handle it.

Gwen must have felt him stiffen, because she pulled away again, this time with a worried expression.

"Kevin? What's wrong?"

He took her hand before she could reach for his face again, and shook his head. "I'm fine,"

"But-"

He gently but firmly pushed her from his lap and stood up. "C'mon, I'll take you home."

Comprehension dawned on her face, and he internally winced.

"It's my dad, isn't it?"

"Huh?" not quite where his thoughts had been trailing, but now his curiosity was aroused.

"He corned me this morning," she said, her tone extremely annoyed as she used a little too much force to get her books into her school bag. "And he said if I ever came home so late from a mission again with _you_ I was going to get grounded for life."

He took her hand and laced his fingers through hers, steering her towards his car while she silently seethed.

"Next time, I'm leaving you at Steph's," he promised, not wanting to upset her family.

"I think that would be a good idea," she agreed.

"Wanna stop for a smoothie?" he asked, starting up the engine.

"You know what?" she said thoughtfully, looking out the window.

"No, I don't," he rolled his eyes at her. He wasn't a mind reader.

"I feel like a hotdog," she said, with an almost dreamlike quality to her tone.

She turned to look at Kevin with a smile on her lips, which slid off as he looked her up and down, appraising her appearance.

"What?" she demanded.

"Well," he twirled an imaginary goatee around his finger and smirked at her. "Hot, hell yeah! But you don't look like a dog to me…nah, you're not quite a bitch," he jumped as he was given a backhanded slap by a ball of manna. "Ow! See, now _that's_ bitchy behaviour,"

"Just drive," she snarled, fists clenched and pulsing with light.

Not wanting to get slapped again, Kevin drove off down the road, fully aware of the glares that she was throwing at him.

Was it really his fault that he was a teenager, and therefore raging with hormones? Of course, he thought Gwen was beautiful, but when she wore tight fitting or slightly see-through tops, it was quite tempting to keep his eyes fixed on her chest rather than her face. Luckily, today she was wearing a hoody in a dull shade of grey, so temptation was at a minimum.

Still, he wouldn't mind saying screw it and driving off to the lake or somewhere and spend the rest of the evening with her making out. There were only two things stopping him from doing this.

Firstly, his self-esteem was still trailing in the mud at the moment, despite River's attempts to give him a boost. And secondly, her father would kill him.

He liked living too much at the moment to contemplate that fate.

A thought struck him as he pulled up outside the fast food place Ben got his chilly fries, and Gwen gave him a sarcastic look.

"What now?" he sighed, looking straight ahead through the windscreen.

Kevin leant over and pressed him lips against her skin, just beneath her jaw. "You love it really," he teased before getting out of the car to get some hotdogs.

---

River had dearly missed the Smith-Tanner's when she had moved to BC, but then they had followed her across the Atlantic, and she was thrilled to be back in their company. Their house was just like her own family home back in Dorset: chaotic and manic. That was the way she had grown up, and when she and Taylor finally had the money, their own home would be just as chaotic and manic and this.

Tom was passed out on the sofa, exhausted after working all day and then being mobbed by his younger siblings. Lea and River had good naturedly prised them off of him and started playing a game where one person wore the old, musty Halloween cloak and had to be the monster that haunted whatever setting they chose (today was an abandoned mill) and then the other adult would direct a game akin to Scooby-Doo.

River was skulking in a corner, ready to pounce on the next person who walked past the piano, breathing loudly to attract attention. It failed after Kev ran past her three times without noticing. Dylan, who tagged along as Shaggy, was dropping heavy hints to the others where the monster was, but the twin's weren't heaving any of it; to the attic!

Miley was off doing a health visit for the rookie Plumbers, so there was one less witness to her embarrassment.

That only lasted until she heard many footsteps in the hallway, and then someone was standing over her, clearing their throat.

Looking up, she saw Kevin's incredulous expression.

"Hey Kevin," she said brightly. "I'm pretending to be a monster from the deep," she pressed her finger to her lips to motion for silence. "_I'm not here_!"

"Um…" he raised a hand, pointing at her, then lowered it and shook his head. "I don't even wanna know,"

"No, I don't think you do somehow," she agreed.

"AHA!"

"GOT'CHA!"

Suddenly, she was being grabbed from all sides, and fell sideways so she was sprawled across the floor.

"We got her!" Erin crowed.

"Yey!" Ella clapped her hands together.

Kev did his best imitation of Scooby's laugh, and River sat up, pulling the boy into an embrace and ruffling his hair. "Okay, okay, I give in! I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling small people!"

"River!" Ella tugged at the cloak around her neck. "You didn't say it right!"

"You ruined the line!" Erin chipped in.

"We're not _small_ people!" Kevin said indignantly, pulling out of her arms.

"You are to me," she laughed, hugging the girls. "But, you never _did_ find the secret treasure, did you?"

"What treasure!?" Erin forgot her tantrum in a moment.

"Well," she gathered them around while Dylan leant against the wall, shaking with silent laughter, and Lea slunk away to the kitchen. "The treasure of the Cookie Monster, of course! Hidden at the summit of the highest cupboard in a realm known today as…the _kitchen_,"

The kids all looked at each other, and legged it for the kitchen, pushing each other out of the way. "Me first, me first!"

"Lea! Run!" River called after them.

She picked herself up and dusted herself off as she heard Lea running up the stairs, followed closely by the children.

"Such imaginations," she shook her head with a contented sigh. "A shame we grow out of them, really."

Kevin was looking at her in a way that made it clear he was unnerved.

"Give over," she removed her cloak and dumped it over his head. "Once upon a time, you were _just_ the same."

"You're nuts," he snorted, taking the bundle of fabric and throwing it at the piano.

"Yeah," she spun on her heel at the doorway of the front room. "But what _kind_ of nut, _that's_ the question."

He looked even more confused than before.

"Never mind," she waved her hand vaguely. "Steph's not here right now,"

"She left before I did," he frowned. "I dunno where she went,"

Lea ran into the room, looking slightly worse for wear. "Little _terrors_," he said, wide eyed.

"Such is the future of the human race," Tom slunk out of the room. "I'm going to bed…"

"We, as a species, are _so_ screwed," Lea commented, straightening his shirt collar out.

"And it's so nice to see the optimism we have in the future of our race," River chipped in with a smile. "I wish Mel would hurry up," she added.

Suddenly, reality flipped before her eyes as she tried to leave the room, and everything slid away from her for a moment.

---

Lea watched River turn to the doorway, and saw the sudden look in her eyes that told him she was about to crash and burn. He reached out before she had time to loose balance, and carefully lowered her to the floor.

He looked up, and saw Kevin panicking. "She's fine," he said offhandedly. "She's just having one of her moments."

"What's wrong?" Kevin demanded, dropping his rucksack on the floor and joining him at River's side.

Her eyes were open, but clouded over, and her mouth hung open slightly. Classic signs off her 'condition. "She's just blacked out. She'll be fine in a couple of minutes. She must be over doing it again…" he was going to have a go at her about this later.

The front door burst open, and Mikey stormed in, dripping water everywhere, and Steph half a step behind him, laughing her head off.

They paused mid step as they saw River on the floor, and they were immediately at her side, clammering for an explanation.

Lea cuffed them both round the head and told them to lay off. "She's fine, give her some air! River will be up in a sec, she needs room to breathe. Mikey, what hell happened to you?"

He snarled and Steph laughed loudly.

"He was trying, I say _trying_, to court that Newman girl at Mr Smoothies, and then he and Ben got into a fight, so Mikey pushed Ben into the water fountain at the other end of the parking lot, and he pulled the cap off the top as he fell! Mikey got soaked," she got no further because Mikey wrestled her into the living room and in front of the TV where there was space.

A few drops of water from Mikey dripped onto River's hands just as her arms twitched, and suddenly she came back to life with a scream, which made Kevin jump out of his skin.

"Cold! _Wet_!" she wiped her hand against the carpet. "_Shit_, that scared me,"

"See?" Lea said to Kevin, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her to her feet. "Fine. Although," she looked up, eyes wide. "I want a word with you," he snarled.

"What?" she blinked, trying to regain her vision.

Lea put an arm around her shoulders and steered her away from the room and down the hall to the kitchen. Michelle was busy talking on the phone to someone, so he pushed River into the larder and rounded on her.

"What have you been doing recently?"

"Erm…" River frowned at his attitude, hands setting themselves on her hips and weight on her back leg. "Let's see. Paper work, moral support, baby-sitting, a bit of riding the other day…and swimming last week. What's it to you, Lyndon-Lea?"

He ignored the use of his full first name, and snapped back, "And why haven't you been taking it easy? You _know_ what happens when you over do it!"

Last time she had blacked out when she had over done it, it had been in a harbour while they were canoeing and she had nearly drowned. It was normally Miley who nagged about such things, but after she had very nearly died – _again_ – Lea had taken a more active role in keeping her alive. He didn't care if she was older, or more 'in touch with the force'; he wouldn't let her do something stupid like that again.

"I'm fully aware," she snapped back angrily. "I just didn't see this one coming. I've felt fine all week, and last week, and the week before that, too. If I had been having headaches the whole time, I would have _stopped_. Besides, you didn't stop me when we were running around the garden earlier," she pointed out.

"That's different," Lea insisted. "I didn't know you were gonna black out like that! You scared the crap out of Kevin,"

"I'm sure he'll understand I have these moments," she sighed, rubbing her temples. "When you're brain damaged, there's not a lot you can do about it,"

"Hang on," something just occurred to Lea. "You haven't been having any headaches?" that was the tell tale sign that a spack attack was imminent. River gauged it by any number above six within twenty-four hours meant the next day she was going to black out no matter what she did.

"Yeah." She frowned again. "I thought I'd push my luck and see how long I could go for, but I didn't see this one coming."

"You haven't been on painkillers or anything?"

"No,"

"What about medication? Did you bring anything with you?"

"Pfft!" she laughed in his face. "That crap the doctors gave me? Puh-lease! I showed that to Dianne, she took one look and chucked it in the garbage. I have herbal tea for the bodily physical anxiety. Work better than those bloody pills,"

"What else though?" Lea knew she had given up on the 'normal' medicines and gone completely to the alternative methods, since the Rez's Witch Doctor had started giving her herbs and so on for all her medical needs. He'd never seen such colour in her cheeks since Sixth Form.

"Well," she rolled her eyes. "I have that powder stuff for…you know…"

"What?"

"Menstrual cycle?" she said bluntly.

"Oh." He didn't want to know that. "Right."

"And that's it," she shrugged. "Seriously, Lea. You know if I felt the headaches coming, I would have slowed down. I thought I was in the clear,"

"C'mon," there was no use worrying over it now. "Let's go watch TV. We can find Miley later and talk to her about it,"

"Sure thing," River had a spring in her step as they went back to the living room.

But then she suddenly stopped and recoiled a half a step before falling to one side. This time, Steph caught her, looking worried. She had been just fine a moment ago; Lea was on the verge of a panic attack now.

"What's wrong with her?" Steph asked, blank faced.

"Over doing it," He took her in a fireman's lift and laid her on the sofa. "I'll call Miley and see if she can leave early,"

As he spoke, the front door opened and Miley swept in saying, "Lucy, I'm home!"

"Miles, get your arse in here, we have a medical situation!" he snapped at her.

"Calm down," she dropped her bag and came over to inspect the 'situation'.

Why could she _never_ get fazed when it was _him_ having a panic attack? She always did this: one way of the other, with one twin being calm and collected, and the other spacking out.

Miley shooed the teens out of the room, and Steph and Kevin laughed at Mikey all the way up the stairs. She calmly felt River's pulses, checked her tongue, and felt for her temperature.

"Well?" Lea fumed when she was done.

"She's _knackered,_" Miley frowned. "What the hell had she been _doing_? He tongue shows there's no infection, no damp heat, nothing. Her core temperature's slightly higher than her normal, but apart from that, I don't see what's wrong."

"She's taking a while to get out of this one," Lea observed.

"Tell me when she wakes up," Miley searched her pockets. "Damnit! My smelling salts are upstairs, hang on." She ran to the attic for them, and reappeared in record time. "I want to know what she's been taking from Dianne. She uses different herbs from me, and I don't want to clash anything."

She wafted the open pot in her hand under River's nose, and she stirred.

A few curses later, and River sat up. "Jesus Titty _Fecking _Christ…" she muttered, clutching her head. "Those salts are _awful_," she whined.

"You're not driving tonight," Miley said firmly.

"I want to sleep," River buried her face under a pillow.

"And I want you to chill out tomorrow. No paper work,"

"I have to do-"

"I said _no_."

"Fine…" and she fell asleep.

"God almighty," Lea groaned. "You're impossible to look after!"

"Sod off." She muttered sleepily.

"I'll go tell Michelle what's happened," Miley got up and left the room.

"Trust _you_ to ruin everything," Lea tried to joke, lightly tapping her shoulder with his knuckles.

She told him to go do something unsanitary to him mother, _and_ sister.

Steph, Mikey and Kevin poked their head tentatively around the doorway. "She okay?" Mikey asked.

"Oh yeah," Lea glowered at her, arms folded over his chest. "She's fine."

He was tempted to slip frogs under her pillow or something, but she had five brothers. Frogs, bugs, and creepy crawlies didn't bother her. Although, a nice fat juicy spider with hairy legs would work nicely.

Her hand suddenly gripped his like a vice, and he winced as she sat up and growled, "Do so and I'll make you wish you'd never been _born_…!"

"Whatever your Rivership says," he patted her head condescendingly.

She called him something unpleasant, and curled up on her side to sleep.

"She'll live," Steph concluded cheerfully.

"Mom! Food! I'm starving!"

Mikey stared after her. "What the frick's up with your accent, you heathen!"

Kevin laughed, and they followed her down the hallway, taunting her.

"All fun and games," Lea shook his head, focusing on the TV.

River kicked him in the gut. "I said sod off!"

"Get your own couch,"

"Well," she went off on a tangent of cusses until she finished with the word, "you."

Once Lea had though up a really good come back speech, she was fast asleep.

"Damn you," he snapped at her.

River spent so much time caring for other people that she neglected herself one more than one occasion. As much as she could give extremely good advice to others, she never took it herself. The only person she had ever listened to was Taylor.

Taylor…that gave Lea an idea.

He whipped his phone out and started texting, looking under 'T' in his contacts list for his best friend's boyfriend.

---

**Good? Bad? Meh?**

**I tried to make Mikey feature more, but Kevin just kept popping up in my mind, and insisting to be centre of attention, and then I thought NOOOO! River's gona be centre of attention! xD I wanted to highlight the fact that, while many readers think she's awesome incarnate, she's got her weaknesses as well. I have a whole mini plot for her that will be revealed later (tee hee! :D) until then, please by all means review! ;) there's always room for improvement, and you guys seriously help me out a lot**

**First person to review gets an extra virtual smoothie and pick what next embarrassing thing Mikey does in front of Sally next chapter! ;D**

**xxx**


	13. Just Dance

**AN: ohhhhh my godddddd I actually want to beat something over the head with mallet. I'm really pressed for time with exams coming up and revision and stuff in general. And anyone heard about Iceland exploding? Bloody hell, people haven't been half moaning about it on tv! Sorry, it really wound me up when this one person was acting like it was the end of the world; it's a friggin' volcano, we have no control, it can do what it bloody well wants to! That includes screwing over UK and European airspace. Right, okay, now that my little rant is over, on with the show!**

_**Just Dance**_

Mikey rolled along the pavement, dispensing newspapers as he went. It was a lousy job, but he supposed it was better than nothing, and it paid, so he just went with it. Still, there had to be something better than this…

He was taking another paper from his bag when he passed a small, modest looking house with a familiar green and black car outside. As he watched, Kevin opened the front door and came out.

"Hey!" Mikey grinned, brandishing the paper in his hand.

"Sup?"

Mikey rolled to a halt. "The sky, Steph's blood pressure, my cholesterol…"

"What happened?" Kevin asked bluntly.

"Well," Mikey gestured with newspaper in hand. "You know how she's slowly but surely gaining an American accent? Ben's sort of taking the piss, and Steph sort of killed him, and then Miley had a go at both of them because River's all _Blargh_ at the moment, and then Steph had a hissy fit."

It was mental back at Steph's house; River was pleading to anyone who would listen and had a license to please just drive her back to the farm. Lea was going all 'big-brother-protective' and insisting that she stay with them in case she passed out and choked on her own tongue or something. Ben was being thrown around the garden by Steph, and Mel was keeping the three children under control. Sort of…

The proceedings had bored Mikey to tears.

"How is River?" Kevin asked, unlocking his car and opening the boot to look for something.

"She's okay," he shrugged. "And she wants to apologise if she freaked you out the other day when she collapsed. That's just sort of the way she is,"

"How come?"

Mikey stuck his nose over Kevin's shoulder to see what he was doing. "The dead parts of her brain aren't clustered together; there was wide spread trauma over the whole skull, so damage wasn't isolated to any particular point. So some parts pick up the slack from others, and some just don't function as well as they should. Things like that thing that handles hormones in the blood stream and stuff, it's partially damaged so that it misfires at random without the thalamus or whatever it is telling it to, so her body spacks out for no particular reason."

It was all too easy to forget just how fragile River really was, when she ran around all day being normal like everyone else. Then she crashed and burned, and they remembered how easy it was to push her over the edge.

"That sucks," Kevin commented, taking a plain, unmarked cardboard box from the back corner and opened it. "I _wondered_ where this had gone!"

Mikey recoiled from the smell. "Dude, you should clean out your ride more often," he shook his head. "Yuck! That smells like that banana my ex-girlfriend left in her locker all summer,"

Kevin looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"She was very forgetful and always stole my break off me so she never _did_ use that locker." The whole row had practically _lived _in his locker; that was where the fun always happened, like Steph's amazing and epic battle of the tennis ball while they waited to go into the exam hall for their GCSE English Lit paper. He remembered vaguely that was the day Steph was doing her A Level Chemistry…

"It's just a neglected lunch," Kevin pointed out.

"How could you Kevin!" Mikey punched his arm. "Neglecting a poor defenceless ham sandwich like that? It has no where to go, all it ever wanted was to be loved and eaten at the table like a civilised meal, and you banish it to the furthest corner of the boot!" he leant over so he was right Kevin's face. "You _evil _person."

"It's just a sandwich," Kevin looked startled. "And it's peanut butter jelly, not ham."

"I'm just messing with you," Mikey handed him the newspaper. "I'm on duty until," he checked his watch. "Crap," why did his watch always die when he needed it most? "You wouldn't happen to have the time, would you?"

Kevin pulled out his phone. "Four fifteen,"

"I'd better get going if I want to get paid. The guy at the news agents is one fat, slimy _git_."

"Have fun," Kevin waved vaguely as Mikey kicked at the ground.

He hummed to himself as he rolled along the pavement, thinking about how he would sneak back into the house without Steph noticing. There were more honourable and epically awesome ways to die than being run through with a steak knife by Steph's hand.

After a few streets, Mikey squealed to a stop. He was outside a medium sized, two storey, terraced house made from white painted wood, and a familiar figure standing on the doorstep, speaking to someone inside.

"Hey, Sally!" he called.

She looked over her shoulder in surprise, and the smiled with a raised eyebrow. "I'll see you later," she said to the person indoors, and walked down the front steps to the driveway, a Golden Retriever at her heels. "Are you stalking me?"

"If by that you mean under the guise of a paper round," Mikey brandished a newspaper at her as she drew level, "then yes, yes I am."

He drew his arm back and threw the paper at the door. It landed neatly on the welcome mat with a barely audible thud.

"Cool," Sally said somewhat admiringly. "I have to walk Amy." She motioned at the Retriever by her side.

Mikey held a hand out to her with a flourish, taking hers and giving it a kiss. "And my I accompany you?" he asked in an over the top manner.

Sally laughed at him, retracting her hand to hold the leash more firmly. "You're such a goof,"

"Aren't I just?" he asked, grinning as he chucked another newspaper at another door, hitting the welcome mat dead on target.

She tossed her tiger striped hair over her shoulder with a smirk, trying to ignore him. Mikey didn't feel in the least put down; time and again his family and closest friends had told him to just be himself, and he would find the right person.

Being himself was what Mikey did best.

He could tell Sally liked him, by the fact that she hadn't completely rejected his advances, she continued to grace him with her presence every time he saw her at Mr Smoothies, and because she always seemed genuinely pleased to see him.

"You doing anything this weekend?" he asked, watching her face intently to gauge her reaction, throwing papers without looking that somehow made it to their targets. He had been an utter legend on the netball team.

"I've got a dance recital." Sally's expression was smooth and unreadable. "Why?"

"Well, I got nothing going on, and I was wondering if you would like to do something?" he remained outwardly casual; inwardly knowing she was going to decline.

"Maybe some other time," she had a sly sort of smile on her lips as she stopped and checked the road before crossing to go to the park.

"I'll see you round," Mikey called after her.

Sally turned to wave and, unable to resist showing off, Mikey tossed a paper over his shoulder as he waved to her, grinning.

There was a resounding crash, and he spun round to see what had happened.

The newspaper had gone straight through the window of the house he had been aiming at. He chanced a glance at Sally before the house owner could come out and flay him alive; she had her hands over her mouth, eyes wide in shock, and Amy sitting with her head cocked to one side in mild amusement.

Oh, he was so going to die…

---

"That's not it," Steph sighed, setting her lucky screwdriver aside.

"Try this one," Lea held up another.

"That's too big," Kevin pointed out.

They were congregated around the table in the workshop, staring at a small piece of level seven tech that they had been given express permission to have in their possession on the understanding that if it went missing into society, their hides were forfeit.

Kevin looked to Lea for guidance, since he seemed to know more about localised Transmorphors Lupus tech than the rest of them put together. He was frowning over the little innocuous pile of twisted wires, screws and bolts, saying nothing.

"While we're still young," Steph snapped when he said nothing.

"Ssh," Lea swatted at her. "I'm thinking."

"You? Think?" River walked into the workshop and duped her bag on the sideboard. "Now _there's_ a novelty!"

Lea raised his hand a made a rude gesture at her, eyes still fixed on the tech. "I wonder what would happen if we took a mallet to it…"

River seemed exceptionally cheerful, more than the occasion called for…

"Gees, who died?" Steph muttered darkly, twirling a screwdriver between her fingers.

"No one I know of," River shrugged, producing a large binding folder, a sketchpad and a battered old blue and white (fading into grey) pencil case. "Life is very good."

Steph muttered under her breath and stalked off to get a drink. Lea went over and poked River in the ribs. "And what's so mind-bendingly awesome about today?"

"Look!" she lifted the bulky folder and waved it in his face. "Paper work is officially over!"

Lea's response was to gather her up in a bear hug and lift her off the floor. "This is going to be so good for your brain,"

"But," she said as he set her on the floor again. "The next lot arrives in a couple of weeks, so I'm not free of it for long,"

Lea started cursing the powers that be and followed Steph to get a drink. River raised an eyebrow after him as she started a quick check of her notes. Bored with their project, Kevin wandered over to her.

"Anyone would think _he_ was doing paperwork," she said conversationally.

"Why do you have to do that, anyway?" Kevin asked.

"Because the powers that be want to keep me out of the way so they try to keep me busy,"

"Why?"

River laughed, and patted his shoulder. "You're always so full of questions! It's basically to try and make me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile. I could think of many things that would be a better waste of my time, but that's just me."

"What do you know about level seven tech?" Steph appeared out of nowhere and began demanding River's attention.

Kevin gave her a shove, annoyed that she had interrupted. For once though, Steph didn't retaliate.

"It's slightly more dangerous than level six," River said, checking her watch. "Hey, Lyndon-Lea!"

Lea sauntered over, looking wary. "Yeah?"

"I got a text last night."

"And?"

"Then I got a call."

"Oh really?"

"From Taylor."

Steph was looking from one to the other, eyebrow raised.

"This affects me how…?" Lea twirled his hand in a vague gesture.

So fast that Kevin missed the movement, River reached out and grabbed Lea's hand. Next thing, he was sprawled on the floor with her crouched beside him, arm-twisted behind his back.

"A little birdie told me that you told him I had a funny turn and now he's on his way down here. When he's been trying to get a commission, I might add."

"Hey, I thought that – _Ow_!"

"What's going…? Oh, for the love of-!" Miley had walked in with a very sheepish looking Mikey.

"I think River's trying to demonstrate she isn't as fragile as she seems," Steph said in a bored voice. "To hell with this, I'm going to get some chips," she stalked out of the workshop.

River stood up and let Lea scramble to his feet. "I do _not_ need a babysitter," she said firmly before going back to her folder.

Kevin made a mental note to not piss her off.

Miley walked by, patting her on the head condescendingly. River muttered darkly under her breath, doing a last minute check on her paperwork.

"What's up with you?" Kevin asked as Miley shoved her little brother into a seat and stalked off to go sit by Lea, who was nursing her arm.

"I sort of put a newspaper through a guy's window…" he admitted, shamefaced.

Kevin laughed. "Were you aiming?"

"Nope." Mikey seemed to be more embarrassed on his sister's behalf, rather than his own. "I was talking to Sally and I sort of wanted to show off, and I broke a man's window."

"Where abouts did it happen?" Kevin gave up on the tech, and drew up a chair opposite Mikey, pulling his sketchbook out and beginning to draw.

"It was literally a few streets away from your house," he took a yo-yo from her pocket and began messing around with it. "Some bald fat man who looks like a mob member minus the huge cigar."

Kevin paused, his mind racing through the people who lived in his area. This didn't bode well… "What was the house like?"

"Oh…bungalow, white…there were these ugly gnomes on the grass, and he had this _mahoosive _dog like police have, with a spiked collar. It looked like the devil dog," he wrinkled his nose. "And smelled something terrible."

Kevin's jaw dropped. Had he…? Had that really been…? Oh dear God, Mikey was going to be killed in his sleep…

Mikey picked up on his sudden silence, and said, "Anyone you know?"

"Tah-dah!" Ben flounced into the workshop.

"Ben!" Kevin motioned for him to come over.

"Huh? Wassup?" he sat down in a free chair and looked from one to the other.

"Mikey just broke old Mr Winters' window." Kevin told him.

It was Ben's turn to drop his jaw. "You're kidding me!"

Mikey looked worried now. "Should I be afraid?"

Kevin and Ben exchanged looks. "He's the ultimate grumpy old man," Ben breathed.

"He tried to shoot at us one time cause a DNAlien trashed his car," Kevin added.

"And he told Gwen she was showing too much skin when she wore that sleeveless t-shirt," Ben went on.

Kevin frowned. "What shirt?"

"That shirt that – oh, never mind. That was like two years ago…"

"So basically I'm screwed," Mikey concluded.

"Yup," Kevin looked down at his page.

"Pretty much," Ben shrugged.

"Well," Mikey dropped his yo-yo, swore, and picked it up off the floor. "I offered to give him my pay until it amounted to the cost of the window, _without being prompted_," he added loudly, glaring at Miley. "So I must have redeemed myself a little bit…right?"

Kevin so dearly wanted to tell him everything would be all right, and he wouldn't have to live with a knife under his pillow for the next five years. But, Gwen had drilled it into his head that honesty was the best policy, and he had to uphold her teachings. "You're screwed."

"Bugger," Mikey said in a deadpan voice.

"Less of the language, boys," River closed the file with a snap before dumping it on the table and perching on the corner herself. "You had the guts to go and face him, and offered to pay for the window. If he still wants to hold a grudge against you, that's his problem and not yours."

"You kidding?" Kevin demanded. "It _is_ Mikey's problem. He'll be taking Winters' will be taking pot shots at him next time he's on a paper round!"

"Thanks for the support, dude," Mikey said brightly. "I really appreciate it."

"He's a grouchy old man who's never married or had children and has no family." River pointed out. "Why do you think he holds such contempt for the world?"

"Cause he's got nothing better to do?" Kevin chipped in.

"Exactly!" River clapped her hands together. "And we, oddly enough, have better things to do with our lives. Life moves on, blah blah blah…"

"So," Lea handed her a steaming mug. "You happy Taylor's on his way?"

"Yes, I am." She took a sip. "But last time I spoke to him, he was trying to get a commission for the museum in Victoria. I don't want to distract him from his work,"

"He's happy with it," Lea insisted.

"Yeah," River narrowed her eyes. "Cause you made it sound like I was _dying_." She made an exaggerated movement with her arm. "Do I _look_ like a zombie to you?"

"Space zombies are evil," Kevin muttered.

Mikey and Ben both gave him quizzical looks.

"Nasty pieces of work," River agreed. "I once read this nonsense about how they can drift through space without exploding because of the lack of pressure. Stupid website, that."

Lea sighed dramatically, scooping up the tech and taking it to another workbench. "You and you're space monsters."

River said something in a different language; one only Mikey seemed to understand, because he started laughing.

"I taught her that one," he said smugly.

"Swahili is an interesting language." River commented.

"That was Zulu," Mikey reminded her.

"Oh, was it?"

"Yup."

"Meh," she shrugged. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a planner that needs doodling in."

It was actually a rather enjoyable day; after Ben and Kevin teased Mikey some more about breaking Winters' window, they sat around and talked about stuff in general. Mikey was intensely curious about the ways of American Football, something Steph was rather 'meh' about in the grand scheme of things. So Kevin and Ben educated him about it; the players, the rules, the ball, the field, and some history behind the sport.

Mikey was fascinated by it all, and even asked if he could watch a game with them sometime. "Sounds like fun," Ben enthused. "I'll bring popcorn!"

"Absolutely riveting," Miley said sarcastically from her corner.

"Hmm?" River looked up from her planner. "Someone say my name?"

"I said _riveting_," Miley scowled at her brother.

"Oh, okay." River remained unfazed.

Steph came back, bearing chips, and she was duly mobbed for it.

"Oh bringing of food," Mikey gave her a hug and tried to kiss her cheek. "I love you!"

"Get it off me!" Steph ran away and cowered behind Kevin.

"Give ol'Mikey a hug!" he lumbered towards them like Frankenstein's monster, grinning like an idiot.

"Argh!" Steph ran away, and Mikey chased her, phasing on the threshold and bounding after her on four legs.

"And life goes on," Lea said, unconcerned.

"I wonder where Mel is," River said vaguely, holding a page up to the light. Apparently, what she saw she heavily disapproved of. "Well _that's _just crap…"

Miley came over and snatched the book form her hands to examine. River shrugged, and started playing with her necklace instead.

"I think it needs colour," Miley concluded.

"No, look," River pointed at something on the paper. "It's all wrong…"

"I don't see…" Miley shook her head. "You _always_ say that about everything you draw."

"Lemme see," Kevin held out his hand, and River handed him the planner. "What the…?" he couldn't see what she was trying to draw.

"It's called a spilt design," she explained, tracing the outline with her finger. "It can be viewed as one shark from the front, or two from the side facing it other."

Ah! Okay, _now_ he could see.

"That's out of balance," he took an eraser and carefully rubbed out a line before tracing over it. "And the tail looks crooked…"

"It is _so_ hard to critique your own work," River sighed. "I can see what you mean, that bit there,"

Ben was giving him a weird look, but he ignored it.

"There," Kevin was quite pleased with it.

"Dude!" River grinned. "That's _loads_ better! I'd hug you, but…yeah," she laughed. "Guys don't like hugs,"

Lea snuck up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and bodily lifted her from the table.

"Hey! Cut it out, put me down!" she protested, unable to reach her fist around to hit him. "No fair, I can't twist round cause of my shoulder! _Lea_!"

Kevin half expected Miley to rush to her aid, but she sat rather smugly on River's perch, and flicked through her planner, saying nothing whatsoever.

He felt like laughing at her expense, but Lea placed her on the floor and slipped away before she could retaliate. "I'm not a rag doll!" she complained. "You're all evil people,"

"I didn't do anything!" Ben defended himself.

"Don't rush to help a lady in need," River said, full of bravado. "I'm going to sit in this corner and sulk – gimme that!" she pretended the snatch her planner from Miley and storm off to the other side of the room.

It would have been a lot more convincing if she hadn't caught her foot on Steph's toolbox and took a nosedive to the ground. Miley and Lea sprang to their feet to help her up, but River heaved herself to her feet and bobbed along to the counter, laughing as she said, "I'm okay, I'm fine, people! Just goofing off here,"

Lea laughed, and called her something that sounded like 'Spack…'

Steph ran inside long enough to grab a handful of chips before running away again. Mikey came back not long after and started shovelling chips into his mouth.

His reasoning was, "Get in now while she's not here to gut me,"

---

After a lengthy study session at a friend's house, Gwen finally made it to the workshop. What she found there she had not been anticipating; Kevin and Steph were, as always, pouring over some piece of mechanical junk, which was not out of the ordinary.

What _was_ odd was that they were laughing at what the others were up to. Grandpa Max was dancing with River and Miley to a song that was playing from the speakers, while Mikey and Ben were standing on the table, playing imaginary instruments and singing at the tops of their lungs. Lea was leaning heavily against the sideboard where the speakers were, beating his fist against the wood, shoulders shaking with the effort of remaining silent.

She carefully placed her bag in the corner, and tried to edge into the fray. Miley tumbled out, laughing, and Gwen asked, "What…?"

"Long story short," Miley herded her into a less hectic part of the room. "Max came to pick up River's paper work and then they started singing Lady Gaga."

Now that she listened, Gwen could hear the familiar words.

It should not have been _that_ surprising that in her absence something like this had occurred, but she felt staggered all the same.

Possibly what was more amazing than anything else was that they had got Grandpa to dance to Lady Gaga. They would _never_ hear the end of this…

Mikey jumped down and stood beside River; the two of them sang along with the music.

"What's go-ing out on the floor? I love this record baby, but I can't see straight anymore. Keep it cool what's the name of this club? I can't remember but it's alright, alright,

"Just dance!" Gwen had to admit, River was a good dancer, and an even better sing. "Gonna be okay,"

"Life is good," Mikey concluded as the track ended.

"_Let's have some fun, this beat is sick; I wanna take a ride on your disco stick,_"

River scuttled over to kill the song in its tracks, since Max was giving them a dubious look. "C'est la vie." She shrugged.

"But River!" Lea grabbed her shoulders and looked intently into her eyes. "It's gonna be okay! As long as we keep dancing,"

"But Lea!" Mikey put his hands on River's shoulders and jumped into the air.

"Ow!" she winced and pulled away. "Watch the shoulder!" she suppressed a curse and slid over to the table. "I'm breakable…"

"Anyway," Lea focused his attention on Mikey. "You were saying?"

"Hakuna Matta, mon grand frère!" came the response.

There was a long and drawn out pause in which the only sounds were those of the folder scraping across the table top and River's footsteps as she approached Max and handed it to him. She spun gracefully on her back leg to face Mikey for a moment before saying, "You're pronunciation is _terrible_."

"But I can sing that song, in Zulu!" he stuck his tongue out at her.

"And I can sing _and_ play guitar to thirty Hindi songs. And Sanskrit."

Steph entered into the discussion in her usual loud and boisterous manner, making Gwen roll her eyes.

"I can burp my ABC's in Japanese,"

"No!" Everyone shouted at the same time.

"God…" River pretended to stalk away. "You see, Max? You _see_ the _Muppets_ I have look after?"

"You have my sincerest sympathy," he promised her, looking at the folder with wide eyes. "How many pages…?"

"To be honest," she pivoted on her leg again and walked back into the fray. "I didn't even bother to count,"

---

**Comparatively short, I've been rather distracted recently…. mainly by this awesome hoody that I bought that **_**glows in the dark!**_** :D I think my brother's going to murder me in the dead of night and dump my body in the ocean, I haven't shut up about it all week. Speaking of which, this update took FOREVER because I wrote a one shot, which you may or may not have read yet (**_**Encounter**_**, check my profile) and then I couldn't remember where the file was on my desktop and my internet died…and I cried. A lot.**

**Also, lady gaga got tagged on at the end because my friend and I had a rave while we were doing the washing up listening to her ipod and I had it going through my head, and it demanded a place in the story xD**

**Next update will be a looooooooong time away, since holiday season is over and PAPER WORK takes over life. Much as I hate this arrangement, and in the summer I'm off on a grand tour of several continents, and laptops are a BIG no no, I won't have much chance to update. But I **_**will**_**, just very infrequently :(**

**So! feedback plz, so I can mull over improvements while I stare out the window in lessons…**

**xxx**


	14. Conversations

**AN: I am actually considering beating my brains out with my war poetry text book…but I need those brain cells :S**

**Massively SLOW update :( I'm sorry, and I think a section of the South American Rain forests were just cleared to fuel my paperwork. Redrafting essays like no one's business….that, and our school decided to have a charity fund raiser where the sixth form came in fancy dress, two days before the set date. Could a girl have a little more warning, people? Jesus, thank god I do karate, I duno what else to be but a samurai…luckily, everyone thought I had gone through so much effort to make my outfit, no one needs to know I cheated! XD**

**Anyways, I'm rambling again. Also, I believe I ranted and raved about the volcano last time I updated; I just want to clear up that I was more pissed off with the media than anything else, and this woman who was interviewed and acting like it was the end of the world and she was 'devastated' that she couldn't go on holiday. Yes love, but you're not stranded in another country, you can go home and god forbid your plan went up into the ash cloud and the engines failed and you spiralled out of the sky and into the ground/ocean. Sorry, but people like that REALLY get on my nerves: like the aviation authority said, better safe than sorry. Anyways, its all good now mostly, unless you live in Iceland near that volcano :S that can't be fun…**

**But I digress. Here's a much needed update!**

_**Conversations**_

Kevin was later than normal getting to the workshop, since he had hung round to catch Crystal's hockey match (her team won by just one point, but their defence had furiously guarded the goal so the other team never scored). Steph had thrown a fit over him abandoning her for a game, but River had collared her over it and promptly kicked the younger girl out the room, saying, "For goodness sake! You see Kevin every single day, one afternoon without him won't kill you,"

He would be eternally grateful to River for getting Steph off his back. She seemed to be the only person besides Mel who had any sort of control over Steph, and he hadn't been bothered once since she had stormed off in a temper. Kevin wouldn't mind betting that by the time he next saw her, she would be over her tantrum.

At the workshop, a scene of chaos presented itself to him.

Steph and Mikey had bottles of water with the sports lids that didn't drip, which they had opened, and were spraying each other with water. Gwen was sitting at the table shoved into the corner, a folder over her head to shield herself from the deluge. Lea was firmly ignoring the proceedings, tweaking 'the rig' in the opposite corner to Gwen.

'The Rig', as River had dubbed it, was a rather large computer rig, which comprised of several monitors, an insanely mahoosive drive, several billion terabytes of memory, and a dozen or so USB ports. Oh yeah, and then there were the CD, DVD, and IVD disc drives…and the badge adapter connection that Lea had jury-rigged since they couldn't acquire one themselves.

Mikey jumped up onto the table and dive bombed Steph, making her fall over backwards on the concrete floor.

"_Bastard_!" she shrieked, pile driving him into the wall.

"Kevin!"

Kevin staggered as Gwen flew into his arms. "Hey," he had to throw a hand out to steady himself, or they'd end up on the floor. "We're enthusiastic today," he teased.

"They've been at it for hours!" she whined, burying her face in his metallic shoulder. "They're driving me _insane_!" she glared at Lea, who was still ignoring the proceedings. "He's done nothing about it!"

"You're coming to me? For _sanity_?" he pretended to fall over backwards. "Sorry, can't help!" he pushed her playfully to one side and went to help Lea.

Past experience had shown Kevin that he should only ever interfere with Steph, when she was in a mood like this, if he was feeling suicidal. He quite liked living at the moment…

"Lea," he punched the man's arm. "How's it going?"

"Huh?" Lea looked up, and grinned when he saw who it was. "Hey Kevin. Tis going _fantastically_."

"What have you done?" Kevin settled down on a comfortable patch of concrete and listened as Lea told him what he had been doing.

"I think if Gerald goes ahead and buys that new PC monitor I'll steal his old one and set it up here," he pointed at the jumbled pile of screens beside the rig. "Then we would have a square screen,"

"What's the difference?"

"We'll have more room to have more windows open." Lea explained. "Think about it; we could run more than five programs at the same time and still be able to see the windows."

"So…?" Kevin dragged it out of him.

"You know, stuff like global tracking, missile seeking, researching and recording, all at the same time on one computer." He stroked the casing for the hard drive tenderly. "This will be my master piece!"

Mikey sprayed water over in their direction, and they sprang up to defend the computer, but a halo of pink light enveloped them and the water dripped harmlessly onto the floor.

"I swear," Lea exploded, releasing his pent up rage. "If you get so much as a _drop_ of water on this rig I'm going to _kill_ you Michael!"

"She started it!" he pointed at Steph.

"Did not!" she shot back.

"So did!"

"So did not!"

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

"Did!"

"Didn't!"

"Didn't!" Mikey shouted.

"Did!" Steph yelled back.

"Aha!" Mikey tapped the side of his nose and pointed at her. "You admitted it!"

Steph went straight for the jugular.

Gwen glared at all of them from the corner, before hiding behind a book. Kevin felt a pang of guilt, but Lea drew his attention away from her and back to the rig, so he pushed it aside for now.

When Ben finally showed his ugly mug, with Julie in tow, Steph and Mikey were lying face down on the concrete, exhausted from their fight.

From the look on Julie's face, something was wrong; he could tell because Gwen was on her feet almost immediately, and ran to Julie's side. It was some freaky girlish intuition, Kevin swore it was. It was like how River had been feeling ill yesterday and Miley had magically appeared out of thin air from the other side of town to take care of her.

Women…

Miley and River were having a conversation about their old sixth form buddies over hot chocolate and River's second favourite card game of all time after Uno, More.

Miley was winning at the moment, but she knew it was only a matter of time before River made a come back and thrashed her. They were slagging off a particularly nasty girl who had tried to ruin their English presentation on _Dracula_ by giggling and making comments on every thing they said. They laughed as they recalled the teacher had boosted their marks and dropped Penny's.

"Stupid bitch," River muttered.

"Karma!" Miley reminded her, laying down an ace.

"Yeah, _she'd_ better watch out. I have nothing to regret," River had an ace as well.

After placing the same number card down four times in a row, they played rock, paper, scissors instead. They managed to fail at that, too, and ended up laughing at the sheer stupidity of the situation.

"Stop reading my mind!" Miley threw her card down on the table and folded her arms across her chest. The effect was spoiled by the grin on her face.

"I can't!" River leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the table. "Stop thinking!"

After a few minutes, they calmed down enough to gather the cards up, shuffle them, and deal twenty-six cards each. The first numbers down were both five.

"For Godssake!" Miley pretended to shout.

River doubled over with laughter and couldn't stop this time. They had a good old giggle about it, and eventually calmed down; it was just like Friday afternoon in year 13, when they used to spend the entire one-hundred-and-eighty minutes playing card games and looking up random things on Google in the winter, and playing Frisbee on the common with ice creams in hand during the summer.

God, Miley missed those days…that study room had been like a second home to her; all the best memories of her A Levels were tied to that lofty room with the sloping ceilings and the clear view through the windows to the rest of the campus.

Her musings were cut short as River's laughter died down rapidly, and she stared at the wall blankly. Miley prayed she wasn't about to go sideways like she had the other day; Lea knew how to handle those moments, she didn't.

"Riv?"

Her friend jumped to her feet and ran out of the tiny dining room. Miley raced after her, nearly running Michelle over at the foot of the stairs. "Sorry!" she called frantically over her shoulder.

River had run to the first floor, down the corridor, and straight to the bathroom.

Well, at least Miley could handle this, even if she didn't particularly enjoy watching her friend throwing up. They had eaten two hours ago, and River hadn't eaten that much… Miley took a spare hair band from the millions in her pocket, and tied River's hair back, tucking her fringe into the bandana to keep it out of the way.

There wasn't much to come up, so it was over pretty quickly. Miley calmly flushed the toilet, soaked a flannel to wash her face with, and went upstairs to get her toothbrush.

By the time she had come back down from the attic, Mel had arrived home and was already with River. She was naturally fair skinned (she failed to tan, even when she had spent a month in Egypt) so she always looked pale, but when she was ill she took on that pallid, pasty quality that made her look like a corpse, successfully creeping every single doctor she had ever seen. Right now, River looked a little red in the face, and she felt overly hot.

"You feeling better?" she always bounced back from an illness with more vigour than before; the year above them had dubbed her the 'bouncy ball of the Jubilee block'.

"No…" she moaned.

Mel was sorting out her dishevelled appearance. "You look off," she said calmly.

River shrugged one shoulder and grimaced.

"Come here," Miley grabbed her wrist and felt with her three fingers for her pulses. The veins in the wrist were wonderful indicators for how the body was functioning. Right now, River was all over the place, especially her liver line. Then again, whenever she had a funny turn – like just now – her liver line had a major spack attack. "Jesus, Riv. You're spacking out like there's no tomorrow!"

"Maybe she needs the needles?" Mel suggested.

River refused help in walking down the hall to the spiral stairs, but she took a nosedive into the bottom step, so Miley dragged her the rest of the way up.

River was brave enough to look at the needles once they were in, but her nerve failed her when she watched them going in. Miley had always been impressed by her attitude towards acupuncture, but today she was a bit out of it. She lay on her back on Mel's bed while Miley felt around her arms and legs for the right points, murmuring to herself as she went.

Mel put her shopping away and came back to sit beside them. Miley put in the last needle, but had to redo it when she hit the cartilage in a joint.

"Ow!" River jerked involuntarily. She normally made no noise except to say when she felt the needle; no complaints, no exclamations of pain, nothing.

"Argh ohmigod sorry!" Miley panicked, removing the needle. "Let's try that again." Once it was in, positioned correctly and causing no pain, Miley sat back and said, "Okay, fifteen minutes. You just sit there,"

River groaned.

Mel put a hand on her forehead. "You're not yourself." She commented.

"River? You still with us?"

"Yes," she sulked.

Miley giggled. "Good. I'm just going to ask a couple of questions, if you don't mind."

"Shoot," River said in a monotone.

She was absolutely fine. Pissed off, but fine.

"How's your health been in general? You noticed any changes in your body's patterns recently?"

"No more than usual." River sighed. "Haven't been getting headaches, though. And I've been passing out a lot. And now I'm being sick a lot."

Miley propped herself up on her elbow to consider this. "And your cycle?"

"Still screwed up."

Miley frowned as she puzzled out what was happening. The gland in the brain that handled the release of hormones into the body was essential to many of the processes that kept you alive. River – tough luck – had had hers damaged in the car accident, so it misfired at random, which screwed up many things, including her period. She had some stuff from the T'souke witch doctor for that; it couldn't control the hormones that triggered the cycle, so it jumped around all the time, but it relieved the pain and lessened the flow. River was every doctor's worst nightmare; she nearly died of blood loss one bright and sunny biology lesson because her brain told her body to keep producing blood.

Considering the possibilities, Miley stared at the ceiling. Mel announced softly that she was going to get drinks, and left the room.

"Do you know what Dianne put in your medicine?" Miley asked.

River rattled off a list of plant extracts, some names in English and others in Native American. "I think that's it…"

"Hmm…that should only control the flow and the pains…and stop conception." Dianne was a sharp woman, who really knew her stuff; she wouldn't screw up on something like this. "Anything else?"

"Benadryl, for the hay fever. That's all."

"Can you give me a sample of your powder stuff? I want to check and make sure it hasn't spoiled or anything."

"Yeah, sure thing."

River's phone started singing, and she groaned.

"I'll get it," Miley took the black mobile from the pocket of River's jeans, and pressed the green button. "Hello?"

"_Miley?_"

"Yup. What's up, Lea?"

"_Long story short; some weirdo guys turned up to take Ship from Julie, so now Mikey, Kevin, Ben and I are going to Coda Coda to see about this court order._"

"Coda Coda?" Miley had some unpleasant memories there, but they never talked about them. "Bit far to be travelling for an order for a pet, don't you think?"

"_It's important to Julie,_" Lea stated. "_Kevin's got a ship to get them there, but we don't know how long we'll be._"

"Okay." Miley went on to tell him about River, who looked up from her place on the duvet and glared menacingly. "Can you spare someone to baby sit? I have a check up on the rookies to perform, and I don't want to leave her on her own."

"I have Mel!" River snapped.

"_Bring her to Mr Smoothies later, I _really_ need to finish the rig before I go. Steph and Gwen will look after her._"

"Mel's got to take the children to their swimming lesson," Miley mused. "Okay, I'll take her truck."

"I can still hear you," River griped.

Miley patted her head condescendingly. "Riv's fine, she's got energy to argue."

"_Tell her to cheek her email_,"

They said goodbye, and Miley cranked up Steph's computer. By the time she had opened the guest account, it was time to de-needle River, so she sat her down in the seat at the desk. "Lea said check your mail."

Mel returned with tea and hot chocolate, and they waited while River checked emails. "Oh!" she grinned. "Chelle's in town! But she's in Sooke," her face fell. "Damnit! I've been meaning to give her that book,"

Michelle Fletcher, or 'Chelle', was a girl from her course at Victoria, and a wonderful person to hang out with.

"Don't think that's what Lea meant," Mel said simply.

"Well…oh, something just arrived,"

Miley peered over her shoulder. "Taylor?"

"What the…?" River opened it and scanned the first few lines. "Stopped at internet café. On his way now? Jesus, how long has he been on the road?"

Miley left her to it, packing up her things and waiting for them to leave. River sailed past with a grin when she was done, and bounced past before taking a tumble to the floor.

"Truck," Miley said firmly, hooking River's arms over her shoulders from behind and dragging her down the stairs. "You'll fall off the motor bike."

"Taylor's gonna be here in a day and a half!" River was over the moon.

Miley grinned as well. She liked Taylor a lot; he was crazy like the rest of them, but prone to mellow moments, so he kept River on track. Plus his fudge was to die for. She mentioned that to River, who shrugged. "If he hasn't brought some I'm going to kill him anyway. I'll save some for you,"

And the best part about their relationship? River shared her boyfriend, and had no problems if Miley went and did something like go out to the shops with just him. She wasn't the jealous, possessive type; they trusted each other fully and completely.

In a way, Miley envied them for that, but she was happy for River nonetheless. She insisted one day Miley would find her Prince Charming, and when that day came he'd better watch out because Taylor and the rest of the Rez would be behind River waiting to vet him. Not to mention her five brothers, Lea, Mikey, and half a million other people.

It was lovely to know that she had such strong support and a very large and stable safety net to fall back on, but somehow Miley doubted that she could find a guy who could put up with her vastly extended group of friends.

The guys had gone already, and Miley had just dropped River off with them at Mr Smoothies. Steph was studying her solitaire hand with a frown, while Julie and Gwen sat sipping their drinks.

River looked slightly worse for wear, but extremely happy. When asked, she grinned and said, "My boyfriend's driving down to see me."

Gwen sighed heavily, thinking about Kevin. She couldn't figure him out anymore; he was swinging in roundabouts, and she couldn't keep up with his mood swings.

"Something wrong?" River pressed.

She looked to Julie for help, but she just shrugged. "It's nothing,"

River didn't press for more information at that blatant lie, for which Gwen was grateful.

"Thanks again for staying behind to protect Ship," Julie said suddenly.

Gwen smiled and sipped her smoothie. "He can more then look after himself,"

"I know. But I told him not to change into anything. I didn't want those repo men to see what he could _really _do."

"_Ship_!" he bounced up onto the table and into River's lap. She looked startled for a moment, but stroked his head with a smile, and he leaned into her embrace. "_Shiiip,_"

"Sweet little thing, isn't he?" River cooed. "Sorry," she laughed at the look on Steph's face. "I'm a sucker for pets. He's…" she held him carefully under the arms and lifted him up so she could have a closer look. "Galvanic?"

Ship morphed into a toaster and spat out black and green bread slices before morphing back and wagging his tail.

"Mechamorph," River concluded with a laugh.

Steph scowled at them and stacked her cards neatly before shuffling them.

"Someone's mildly pissed off today," River commented.

"You and bloody pets…" Steph muttered darkly. "Stupid Ship. Stupid Ben. Stupid Kevin for ditching me _again_ for the _second_ time today!"

Julie and Gwen exchanged a knowing look while River inspected the nails on her left hand, ignoring Steph's little rant. "Oh," she frowned, looking closer. "I broke a nail."

The offhand, _couldn't-care-less_ tone of voice, and the lack of girlish screaming made Gwen laugh.

"Alright," River shook her hand out in front of her and went to pick up her bag. "It's not _that_ hilarious."

"Ha!" Steph pointed and laughed in Gwen's face.

Her face fell at the lack of reaction from the other three. Steph scowled as Gwen and Julie giggled, and River gave her the 'I've got my eye on you' look.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Julie spoke up and said, "Can I ask you something?"

Gwen looked up to answer, but saw Julie was looking to River instead. She looked up from the sketch she was doing, setting her battered pencil case aside, and said, "Sure, honey."

Julie paused for a moment, took a deep breath and said, "Do you think Ben really cares about Ship?"

It was River's turn to pause. She turned to Gwen before saying, "What do you think?"

Steph raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"I'm sure he does," Gwen said soothingly. "You heard Ben, Ship can used as a powerful weapon."

Ship bounced up onto Julie's shoulders and chirruped desolately. "But what if he wasn't? What if he was just a regular dog or something? _My_ dog?"

Gwen looked to River for guidance, but she had a contemplating expression on her face, so she turned her attention to Steph.

Good old Steph shrugged her shoulders and announced, "He once had a dog."

_Helpful_. "I'm sure Ben does care," even if he was a stupid, idiotic boy who was extremely insensitive at times…

"Well," River sat up straighter in her seat and took an eraser from her pencil case. "If it's any consolation, boys – especially teenaged boys – are notoriously bad at expressing their feelings. Even if he acts like he doesn't care, he really does."

Steph rolled her eyes, and then her expression brightened as a thought occurred to her. "I'm so glad _I_ don't have to deal with this sort of thing,"

"You're time will come," River said menacingly, the effect somewhat spoiled by her deadly bored expression.

"When?" Steph challenged.

River finished rubbing out her failed sketch, and set out with careful deliberation to outline an indistinct shape. "In time," came her simple response.

Steph made a fuss over ignoring River, and River went back to her scrap paper like nothing had happened. It all made Steph look rather ridiculous in the long run, but Gwen had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Is something wrong?" she asked Julie.

Her friend sighed. "It's just sometimes I wonder…"

"I would quote a song," River said conversationally. "But I don't feel in an appropriately annoying mood."

Steph's mouth twitched, like she wanted to say something or burst into song, but her pledge to ignore River was too strong.

"What is it?" Gwen encouraged.

River had her head cocked to one side, and expression that made it clear she was thinking deeply.

"Ouch! Lea, budge up," Mikey gave his brother an almighty dig in the ribs.

"Budge up yourself," Lea gave him a shove.

Kevin's space ship was small, only just big enough to accommodate a driver, a seated passenger, and possibly four or five people standing with no elbowroom. Lea and Mikey were sitting on the floor in the limited space, vying with each other for more legroom.

Mikey didn't like being in small spaces; he wasn't quite claustrophobic, in that he didn't have a full blown panic attack in the same way River did when she saw a spider, but he felt incredibly uneasy in that small box drifting through the vacuum of space. To try and forget the uncomfortable surroundings, Mikey struck up a conversation with Ben. Kevin continued to fly them through the asteroid field with relative ease, Ben occasionally shooting at an unavoidable rock, and Lea did them the pleasure of falling asleep.

Git face. They weren't _that_ boring, were they?

If they had had a pen Mikey would have drawn on his face, but alas, no one had the required apparatus. Once they had exhausted most topics (all of about two of them), Lea woke up, phased, and curled up in the corner, leaving Mikey more room to move.

"Bliss!" he stretched out on the suddenly roomy floor and sighed in content.

"Huh," Ben grunted.

Mikey sat up to get a better look at his expression. Kevin had an eyebrow raised at Ben, but said nothing.

"Wassup?" Mikey prodded gently.

"What is it with Julie and that," he raised his hand to emphasise quotation marks, "'_Dog'_, anyway?"

"Hey, I resent that!" Mikey snapped. "I'm a _Lupus_, not a _Canine_." He stuck his nose in the air and sniffed.

"I think what our esteemed colleague here was trying to say is that he doesn't understand what Julie sees in that blob." Kevin put in. He added to Ben, "You found it on your first date, right?"

Mikey crawled over to the seats and stuck his head between them. "Okay, that sentence started off so eloquently, but you failed the last," he counted in his head. "Four or five syllables."

Ben glared at him, before turning his attention to Kevin. "I don't think that has anything to do with it."

"Yeah?" Kevin smirked, playing ring-around-the-asteroid to avoid a collision. "Keep thinking, you'll get better with practise."

Ben glowered at him, and Mikey stuffed his knuckles in his mouth to keep from laughing. Ben glared at him instead, so Mikey slunk behind his seat to avoid being hit.

"Kevin's got a point, mate…sorry." He winced as Ben lashed out at him.

Lea must have phased, because as Ben throttled Mikey, his boot hit them both in the head.

"Would you shut the hell up for five seconds? Some of us are trying to sleep here."

"Kevin?" Gwen asked, sounding annoyed. "Puh-_lease_!"

Steph had given up ignoring River, and rejoined the conversation. She was finding it hard not to laugh at Gwen's little rant about her boyfriend, something which was earning her disapproving looks from River, but otherwise went unmentioned.

"If it isn't about his car," Gwen went on. "I mean – his _ride_," she emphasised her words with her hand gestures. "Or some alien tech? He's pretty much oblivious."

"Such is the way of men," River sighed dramatically.

"But why?" Gwen demanded, folding her arms over her chest and glaring at the wall beside them. "I don't understand him at all anymore."

"If I may be so bold," River began, but Steph felt the need to cut across her.

"I don't think anyone understands him." She said simply.

"Take the words out of my mouth then," River teased.

"Seriously, Gwen," Steph shuffled her cards to keep her hands busy. "I don't know why you make such a fuss."

Gwen didn't say anything, and Steph looked up to get a glimpse of her expression. She felt instantly guilty when she saw the desolation in her friend's eyes.

River poked her hard in the ribs, making her yelp, before going on to say, "No one truly knows what goes through the mind of a teenaged boy, not even teenaged boys."

"_I_ can relate to that," Steph said sullenly.

Julie laughed. "I'm glad I'm an only child and my cousins live out of state."

"I'm glad I have five brothers," River mused. "I get the best of both worlds; I live on a different continent altogether and only visit them once a year for Christmas. It's a win-win situation for me."

"I wish I could say the same," Gwen sighed again.

Steph wasn't sure what to do, and exchanged a look with Julie, who was looking concerned. River came to the rescue, "I know how you feel. Life isn't easy; if it was, we'd never learn anything."

"I thought that was your excuse for why its okay to copy people," Steph rounded on her.

"Well, we all learn lessons through hard times." River said, like it was the most obvious thing. "And life would be boring if it was all smooth sailing; we wouldn't appreciate all the good things we have if we didn't fall on hard times every now and then."

"But does that have anything to do with Kevin being a-?" Steph went off on a tangent with her cursing, which earned her a cuff round the head and a _very_ disapproving look from the older woman. "What? You never _used_ to care…"

"If I have to bite Kevin's head off whenever he swears, I have to do it to you too. Psychologists aren't allowed to have favourites."

"But I thought _I_ was more special than him!" she pouted, bottom lip trembling piteously.

River remained unimpressed, so Steph lapsed into stony silence. "You_ are _special, Steph. It's just that Kevin's special as well."

"Just like everyone else," Julie chided.

Steph glared at them all malevolently. "I hate you all _so_ much…"

"River," Julie turned her attention from Steph's venomous expression to River's deadpan one. "What do you think about it?"

River deliberated over her smoothie before eventually saying, "Kevin is his own person. And the same goes for Ben."

"I just wish…" Gwen put her hands behind her head and leant her elbows against the table, nose against the hard plastic top. "…I knew what to do…"

"Gwen's cool," Kevin admitted, Mikey draped over the headrest of his seat. He would have liked to get it all off his chest, but he wasn't sure Ben and Mikey were the best ones to spill his guts to. "But you know…"

Mikey yawned widely in his ear and slumped to the floor. "I'm gonna take a nap…"

An asteroid came hurtling out of nowhere. "On your left!" he warned Ben.

Once the asteroid was a pile of floating dust, Ben turned in his seat to give Kevin a meaningful look. "Complicated?"

"Complicated," Julie concluded, as they all stood up to leave.

Steph rolled her eyes before strolling over to her jeep.

"Guys," Julie and Gwen concluded with a sigh.

"Girls!" Ben and Kevin snarled in unison.

Mikey rolled his eyes and opened a can of coke from his rucksack.

"And cheers to that," River added, Raising her canister and taking swig.

As their backs on the 'Closed' sign in the window, they heard an unfamiliar sound from behind, and they all spun round to take a look. River tried to be quick about it, but she felt her body lurch and suddenly felt off balance; that couldn't be good…

It was a small spaceship, rather like a shoebox that had been crumpled at the corners, and painted in a ghastly yellow colour. Gwen and Steph tensed, ready to spring forward, while Julie took a hesitant step back. River moved herself to stand in front of her and Ship, hoping this wasn't going where she knew it probably would go.

Judging by Julie's sharp intake of breath, she recognised the two people who got off the ship and came towards them.

Something nagging at the back of River's mind, forcing its way to the forefront of her thoughts, was telling her running was the best course of action. But, as she appraised their surroundings, she knew that they wouldn't get away in time, and could possibly end up in more serious trouble.

Her mom had lectured her on occupational hazards when River had announced over Skype that she was now working for the Plumbers. Why hadn't she just _listened_ to her mother?

Then it snapped into place: The Vreedle Brothers. There was a memorised list in her mind of the crimes they had committed under so called 'lawful circumstances'.

River swore out loud, and called upon what little reserves of energy she had; even if there was little she could do to help, she could at least by them time at an opportune moment.

"Riv?" Steph asked in a low voice. "Good or bad?"

"We're in deep shit if the guys don't hurry up," she murmured back.

"Now just let _me_ do the talking," Kevin implored Ben.

They were walking down a corridor after docking the ship, trying to locate the courtroom them had bee assigned. Mikey and Lea were either side of Kevin and Ben, padding forward silently on four paws.

Kevin had never noticed before, but Lea was much larger than Mikey when they were in their animal forms, even though as humanoids Mikey was taller. Since Lea was exerting a sense of authority, guiding them down the winding passages to the teleporter, he guessed it was something to do with being the 'Alpha Male' or some such rubbish.

Either way, having a huge a hairy wolf flanking you to the courtrooms was a huge bonus, especially when they were on your side.

"Okay, Kevin." Lea agreed. "But try not to get us chucked in prison." He lowered his head to the ground and sniffed before standing up to his great height again. "We want to get this over with swiftly and cleanly, with minimal collateral damage as possible. Mikey," he glowered at his brother, who seemed to shrink under his gaze. "I'm looking at you."

"You blame me for everything!" Mikey whined pitifully, much the same way Steph cooed when she was being blamed, whether rightly or wrongly.

"This it?" Ben asked, pointing at the chamber ahead.

"Yup." Lea went on ahead. "Remember, ASAP."

It was just like old times; only he wasn't being convicted of anything. Kevin tried to remain cool and not show any signs of recognition towards the judge, who had seen him on more than one occasion in this room before. Mikey stood by his side, looking rather intimidating as they waited for the 'owner' of Ship to arrive. Ben was looking around with interest, while Lea sat by cleaning his fur with an air of disdain about him.

"Wassup with him?" Kevin asked Mikey in a low voice.

"Been here before. Family stuff." The reply came in short, staccato sentences, and there was a steely glint in his eyes. "We don't talk about it."

Kevin took the hint and lay off the topic. He tried to start a new conversation, but the tense, strained look on Mikey's face, and the obvious tension in his jaw was enough to cut down any conversation in its tracks.

After what felt like ages, someone else appeared in the courtroom; a Glavanic Mechomorph. "Sorry I'm late, your Honour!" he said cheerfully, in what sounded like an overly posh English accent.

Mikey snorted in disbelief, and Lea roused himself enough to stand and circle the group, eyeing the new comer with a wary sense of welcome.

"Hey, I know you!" Ben piped up. "He's the one who left Ship on Earth in the first place!"

Baz-L, or whatever his name was, began explaining with big fancy words that River had told Kevin meant nothing in terms of reality, how Ship was still his legal property and since the war with the Highbreed, he had been trying to get his _property_ back.

Mikey's low level snarl of disbelief said it all as far as Kevin was concern. The judge seemed unconcerned, leaning back in his chair and fiddling with his mallet.

"And where is the property now?" he asked in a bored tone.

"The Vreedle Brothers are in the process of repossessing him for me," Baz-L said confidently.

Vreedle? Brothers?

_Shit_.

Kevin was tempted to turn tail and run back to the ship. He couldn't believe they had left Gwen and Steph behind, against _those_ goof balls with a horrible tendency to blow stuff up real, _real_ good. More so then himself, which was the worrying thing.

The judge echoed his sentiment, getting up from his seat in disbelief. "The Vreedle Brothers! Who in their right mind would send the Vreedle Brothers to bring someone back _alive_?"

Kevin looked from Ben, to Mikey, and then to Lea, all sharing the same worried expression. "And Julie's back there with them?" Ben asked, his voice going through several octaves.

"If this takes too long Lea and I can go back and help them until this gets sorted," Mikey offered.

"Then how do _we_ get back without a ship?" Ben hissed angrily.

"Well, we could-"

"Order, order in the court!" came the command.

Now this would have been the moment where Kevin would open his mouth and make some smart-arse comment like 'I'll have a burger with extra fries!'. But with Gwen's safety at stake, not to mention Julie, Ship, Steph, and anyone else caught up in this mess, he refrained from saying anything at all.

"You may now show your evidence," the judge was bored again.

"Break a leg!" Mikey said as Kevin stepped forth.

"Cannit, Mikey." He snapped back.

This was going to be a long and stressful session…

**Omfg I can't believe its taken me so long to write this up! :S In my defence, my school decided to do a million and one things that I managed to get involved with just before study leave. Evil people! I actually fell asleep in choir practise, I'm not even joking. Then I fell off the bench towards the end, but that's not important.**

**I have NO idea when my next update will be, cause I have to knuckle down and get some work done or else I'll fail my sciences. And then I'll have to resit them :( which will suck.**

**I'll do my best to make sure I update soonER rather than latER **

**Chao for now! ;)**

**xxx**


	15. Ship

AN: and after that exam I deserve to be shot for revising everything on the syllabus except the Bohr effect, and how to calculate the heart rate using an ECG scan. Maybe blondes are dying out for reasons other than it's a recessive gene….lol joking people ;) there are tones of brainy blondes out there, I just made one HUGE mistake in my study tactics xD on the plus side, my transport systems and cell division wiped the floor with the other test papers.

**I have to admit, Ultimate Alien hasn't aired in the UK to the best of my knowledge…so I was watching some of it on you tube…and I'm not entirely sure what to think of it. Maybe I'm just getting impatient, but it seems to me a LOT of the stuff that everyone was like 'EXPLAINNNNNNN MAN OF ACTION!' will be answered, but they're dancing around it and I hate being danced around! Although…that Agreggor guy (can't spell to save my life 'spell checked DOES NOT COMPUTE') makes Vilgax look like the Vreedles. I'm thinking this villain might be more epic than the rest put together. If he turns out to be a complete flop I might just say stuff the series and do my own thing xD I have to admit, after 'Escape from Agreggor' I was like IDEA! Although it stems from another idea I had for River before, but now I'm gonna expand on that and alter my plot line. :D I love fanfiction, you get to crib other's work and not get into trouble for it ;)**

**And there I go again, into the sunset, waffling like my grandparents.**

**Btw, crap title; I couldn't think of anything else when I'd finished the chapter! xP**

_**Ship**_

"River?" Steph said slowly and quietly.

"Yes, Steph?" River echoed her tone.

"Take Julie and Ship and get the hell out of here,"

River took Julie by the elbow and tugged her gently back. "You heard feather brain,"

Steph was poised, balancing on the balls of her feet; the exposed muscles of her shoulders twitching, quivering with anticipation. "Gwen,"

"I got your back," she assured her. "Get going!" she added in a hiss to the other two.

Dealing with alien crooks was what she did best, but Julie and River were at risk here. Steph was raring to go, and there was little Gwen could do to stop her.

A quick glance over her shoulder and Gwen saw that River and Julie were slipping away to take cover behind the cars in the parking lot. Ship was safely wedged between the two of them.

The suspense was just too much for Steph; she launched herself head first at the repo men with a screech, and then they were scattering with a huge gold and red bird on their tails. Gwen barrelled after her, wielding her manna by the fist.

OXOXO

Mikey felt jumpy for no adequately explained reason. He was actively blocking all thoughts but those relevant to this particular case, and worrying about the others back home. Kevin stepped forth, sounding a lot more confident than his posture let on, and began giving evidence.

Ben hung by Mikey's side, indecisive, while Lea growled quietly to himself.

"That's him." He said in a dull, rumbling monotone.

"I know." Mikey snarled back. He recognised that judge, and he harboured very ill feelings towards him.

"Huh?" Ben asked, perplexed.

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it," Lea snapped.

Ben looked thoroughly taken aback, and Mikey had half a mind to pin his brother to the floor. It's not like Ben would have known unless Steph had blabbed in the same way she blabbed about River's life story. Then again, River didn't give a rat's arse either way what people knew. The Simcox siblings however, _did_ mind.

Mikey grumbled his protest with a few guttural snarls, and Lea relented somewhat.

"I'm sorry." He said shortly. "But it's personal."

Ben looked utterly lost.

"It's complicated." Mikey interjected. "Lea's just a bitch when it-"

"Do I know you?" the judge said suspiciously.

"I…don't…_think_ so, sir." Kevin began.

"You're _Kevin Levin_," the judge accused.

Mikey tensed to pounce; another growl, more audible this time, rippled from his throat.

"Didn't I tell you if I _ever_ saw you in my court room again I'd throw you _straight_ back to the Null Void?"

"Wait!" Kevin said helplessly. "I can explain!"

"That's what you _always_ say-!"

Mikey sprung forth, sailing over Kevin's head to land neatly in-between him and the judge's table.

Court official or not, Mikey wouldn't let them take Kevin without a fight.

"And you can call off your henchman." The man said with disdain.

Mikey would have barked his defiance if Lea hadn't stepped in, Ben on his tail – quite literally. "This session was not called to put Kevin Levin on trial," Lea rumbled, lips curling upwards in a snarl. "But for the repossession of the Galvanic Mechomorph, otherwise known as Ship." The judge would have taken a step back if he had been standing up. Lea was very much the Alpha of the family after Mikey's father, and he took no prisoners when it came to justice.

"And _you_ are?" came the shaky challenge.

"Lyndon-Lea Simcox of the Grassland Clan."

"And what authority do you have in this hall?"

Mikey bared his teeth in a challenge as Ben pushed past him and Kevin to get to the front.

"They're with me," he announced.

"Dude! What're you doing?" Kevin hissed.

"He's done his time," Ben proclaimed. "We're here because that guy's trying to steal my girlfriend's pet!"

Mikey relaxed slightly, though Lea still maintained an air of authority over the situation, despite Ben doing the talking. Kevin looked panicked, so much so that Mikey nearly laughed aloud.

"Don't worry," he murmured.

Kevin's reaction startled him. The other teen clenched his fist, and raised it as though he were about to hit something; the look in his eyes said it all. "I'm _not_ going back to the Null Void."

"You won't!" Mikey promised. "If they try to, I'll evoke my clan's rite to prisoner of war."

"What?" Kevin looked disbelieving, trying to keep up with Ben's argument and Mikey's Plan B.

"Simples. You and I fight, you feign and lose and surrender to me, and I 'take' you back to my 'home planet' to deal with as my 'clan' sees fit."

Kevin frowned, opened his mouth to speak, but was cut across by Lea's rumbling growl. "So can we please sort out what we came here to do?"

"'Take' as in 'you fly us', 'home planet' as in yours and my 'home' which happens to be a lovely little back water planet in the next sector, and 'clan' as in 'mah crew'."

Thank the lord for interplanetary treaties, was all Mikey had to say for himself.

OXOXO

Steph and Gwen were barely managing to hold the two repo brothers off, and Julie was struggling to keep a hold on Ship. River knew the logistics of running away, and didn't like their chances. Sod's Law she would throw up again or pass out and _then_ Taylor of Lea would be on the warpath if anything happened to her.

More pressing still, was that the kids would be left unprotected. What little she could do to help she intended to do, but she had to wait for the opportune moment.

It came when the larger and possibly more stupid of the Vreedles' grabbed Steph by the legs and hurled her across the parking lot into an expensive looking jeep with a shiny paint job.

River left Julie's side to make sure Steph was okay before heaving her back into her feet. Her pride was hurt more than anything, and River took cover as Steph flew head long at the larger of the Vreedle's, screaming at the tops of her lungs.

Gwen fell back to stand beside River, hands glowing with manna. "Mikey said you know magic,"

"A little," she admitted. "But not enough to hold them off. I can do some healing, but again it's not much,"

"It's better than nothing," Gwen encouraged.

"Aye…" River winced at the thought of Taylor arriving tomorrow, and what Lea would say if he saw her now. "Lyndon's gonna kill me…"

OXOXO

"You know," Mikey said quietly to his brother as Ben ranted on to the judge. "If _The_ Ben Ten fails, we could always drop Magister Tennyson's name into the mix."

Lea snorted derisively. "Just get River and ask her to talk about why it's important for teenagers to have pets and assorted crap. She'd bore them all to sleep,"

He had to admit, Ben was trying to throw his weight around, and Kevin was hanging on the edge of a chasm only he could see. Mikey was relaxing slightly, but mainly because his shoulders had to be aching from staying in that stance for so long.

"Calm down," Lea said to the both of them.

"Calm down? _Calm down_?" Kevin rounded on him.

Mikey put a paw on his shoulder, and dragged him away, and said stoically, "You're tenser than the strings on my violin. And I mean that in a bad way. What's got you so worked up?"

"Worked up?" Kevin spat at him.

Lea watched his brother bristle, but otherwise remain unmoved.

"I'll tell you why I'm so worked up! Ben's mouthing off could get us into trouble, I could get flung in the Null Void – _again_, which would kill my mom – and, oh yeah, my girlfriend's back on Earth with the Vreedle Brothers after her and Julie! What's not to get wound up about?"

"Well, yeah," Mikey blinked. "That's a hefty list. But you're body might react by giving you a stomach ulcer."

It was Kevin's turn to blink.

Lea sighed loudly and dramatically.

"Trust me, they are not pleasant, and they're not worth the effort to clean up the blood."

Trust Mikey to come up with some inane and useless fact. River was indeed a bad influence over the lot of them. Lea was about to remark on that last thought, but the judge asked Kevin to step forth and give his evidence.

Mikey nosed at his shoulder in wordless support. Taking encouragement from that, Kevin took a deep breath, and began his argument. It didn't take long, and the judge looked bored since Kevin hadn't smashed anything up and he couldn't shout at him for any good reason; with a little luck, this would be over quickly and they could get home. "Baz-L is basically trying to steal some poor kid's pet. I mean, who _does_ that?"

Ben stepped forth, apparently impatient with the proceedings, and pushed Kevin out of the way.

"Dude! What are you doing?"

"Improvising,"

Lea rumbled his disapproval, but only Mikey seemed to notice. "Ben," he said in a warning tone. "Listen to the big bad wolf and _shut up_!"

Kevin at least approved of the advice, but apparently no one else did.

Ben raised his hand to make a gesture, and the room filled with green light. Then, standing before them was one of the omnitrix aliens, looking a bit startled.

"Oh…_Ben_!" Lea groaned. "Don't do anything stupid!" It was like running a nursery for this team…and Mikey on his own was bad enough. Thank God Steph wasn't here or she would have attacked the judge for sure.

No sooner had Lea spoken, Ben leant against the desk, and it cracked under the strain, dumping the judge on the ground.

"Opps…"

Lea snarled to himself, keeping it as low as possible. There were at least four people whom he deeply cared about back home who were in serious danger, and this was another set back they just did not need.

"Never, in _all_ my years-" the judge began.

"We are so sorry!" Kevin tried to repair the damage that had been done, using all sorts of long and fancy words to express his deepest regret.

Under less dire circumstances, Lea would have laughed; River and Miley loved using big and wondrous words, 'because…' as was their excuse. These kids had to get out more often instead of hanging out with Lea and his friends…

"Quick! Ben, what's another big word?"

"Enough!"

Here comes the damage report…

Lea steeled himself to either argue or fight their way out. Either way, he would be on that ship to leave within the next fifteen minutes.

"The court rules in favour of," there was a rather long and drawn out pause, in which Mikey grumbled to himself and Lea cuffed him round the ear.

"Ben Tennyson."

"What?" Baz-L said, dumb struck,

"_What_?" Kevin was aghast.

"Don't look so cheerful," Mikey chided, grinning from ear to ear.

Lea let the breath he had been holding, and pretended to ignore Mikey's celebratory sloppy dog kiss. "I want to be ready to leave in ten minutes, Kevin."

"I am sorry for wasting your time with such an unimportant case, Mr Tennyson." The judge said, before turning to Baz-L. "You are hereby ordered to call off the repo men and return the property to Ben Tennyson."

Ben looked triumphant, and Mikey bounded over to him, licking his cheek and whooping. "Now Julie keeps her pet, we can all go home, and we don't have to invoke any tribal rites. Yippee!"

"Levin,"

Kevin looked reflexively guilty as he turned to meet the judge's gaze. He struck the boy on the forehead with his mallet before sweeping from the room like a villain in a mellow drama.

"Ow!" Kevin rubbed the sore spot and glowered after him.

"Um…" Baz-L looked to them with a rather meek air. "I don't suppose I could catch a lift with you chaps?"

"Of course," Lea said, already on his way to leave. "Bus up, people. We have to get home."

"Like I said before," Ben shined his nails on his jacket before studying them with meticulous disinterest. "It's not _what_ you know, but _who_ you know."

Mikey yelped and pranced out of the way as Lea pounced.

Yes, yes, all right. The Great Ben Ten had saved the day. Now Lea couldn't care less about celebrating until they made sure the girls were safe.

"Let me make this _quite_ clear, Benjamin." Lea snarled, pinning him to the floor. "Your fame may have been the deciding factor in this court case, but right now my main concern is that the Vreedle Brothers are still acting on their contract – namely to repossess Ship. And where is Ship? In the company of four girls whom we all know and love."

Ben's eyes widened in horror. "Julie!"

"And I for one am _not_ going to sit around here listening to you gloat while they are in danger. Now _move it_ unless you want me to tear your throat out!"

And that was why Lyndon-Lea Simcox was the Alpha male.

He took a few steps back before twisting around to look at Mikey, who nodded once, and started off at a galloping lope for the spaceport, with Kevin hot on his heels. Baz-L hurried after, and as Ben picked himself up and rushed to join their retreat, Lea halted him for a moment.

"Fame isn't everything," he said, more gentle this time but still as serious.

Then they both turned tail and ran after the others.

OXOXO

Gwen was frantic, with no idea what to do.

Ship had morphed himself somehow around Julie's body, which had greatly helped until the Brothers had managed to freeze him. River's magic repertoire was as pitiful as she had said it was, and in the long run wasn't doing much but distract the larger of the brothers.

They had to distract them somehow…

While River summoned her strength for another attack, Gwen saw some bubble wrap in the dumpster. Hoping against hope it would work, she grabbed it and started pinching the plastic bubbles to make them burst with a loud pop.

To her utter amazement, they bought it, and ripped the sheet from her hands and started giggling inanely at it.

Gwen ran back to River, who was rubbing her hands together. "Now what?" she asked.

"Give me a moment," River countered, her hands glowing with a soft pastel blue light. "I've been working on this one for a couple of minutes, so it should be more powerful. I'll stay with Julie, you and Steph go-"

"Hey!" the smaller and marginally smarter Vreedle came running at them.

"Just go, go!"

Steph hovered in an ever-dwindling circle above them, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Gwen went to take down the bigger guy, who toppled over easily enough. Julie's scream attracted her attention, and she swung round wildly to run to their aid.

Just before she could though, River spun herself in a circle, balancing on the ball of right foot, a shimmering disc of blue light haloing her right hand before she landed into a forward fighting stance, letting the disc spin forth and land on its target. The gun in the man's hands exploded in his face, and forced him to retreat.

Steph chose that moment to dive down and sweep him off his feet. Gwen ran to River again, who was on her knees, panting heavily.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…I'm fine…It's just…that…I don't do…magic…very often…" she looked up and smiled weakly. "I'm not so…good at it. It takes a…lot out of…me…"

Another spaceship landed alongside Steph's Jeep, which had miraculously escaped damage so far. The first out was Ben, who gaped at the proceedings like a goldfish out of water.

"What happened?" he shouted, running to them.

Kevin was close behind him, followed by Mikey and Lea, both of whom were on four legs.

"Ben! Help!"

"Wha-?" Ben skidded to a halt, nearly tripping over River's legs. "_Julie's_ in there?"

"They froze Ship!"

Kevin took one look at the device that held them in place, and scoffed. "I know what this is,"

"Can you get it off?" Ben asked.

"Sure, just one sec," he ran around Ship to get to the device.

"Hi Gwen bye Gwen!" Mikey said in a rush as he ran past, barrelling into the fray with Steph.

Lea slowed to a stop and nuzzled River's shoulder. "You okay?"

"Good, good." She still looked exhausted. "Lea? Do me a favour…"

"What?"

"Remind to stave off magic for the next…I dunno, ten years?"

Lea barked with laughter.

Gwen turned in time to see the Vreedles running at them. "Look out!"

She pulled River after her, and Lea jumped to avoid the impact.

The next five minutes was utter chaos; the other occupant of Kevin's spacecraft, and presumably the 'owner' of Ship was shot at, and Gwen didn't see anymore after that as Ben flicked through his play list before hitting the face dial on the omnitrix. Suddenly, there were three wolves in the ruined parking lot; a huge caramel coloured one with bicoloured eyes, a smaller one with ink black fur and also with mismatched eyes, and another one Gwen had never seen before, yet she knew who it was.

Ben was covered in hazel colour fur, just like his hair, and his fierce green eyes shone prominently out of his long face like lanterns. His lips were drawn back over his teeth in a snarl as he joined Mikey's stride and they both went in for the kill.

"Haven't seen that one either," Gwen commented, helping River to stand.

"Miley will have my head for this…" she moaned.

"Not until I'm through with you!" Lea hissed, padding forward to join the skirmish. "Magic! What were you thinking? If we live through this without being blasted I'm going to _kill_ you!" he reached them in only three bounds, and the larger Vreedle fell down with the extra weight, yelling as he did so.

Gwen went to see if she could help Kevin, but almost immediately ran back when she heard another fight break out. River was fending off the other one with naught but her fists, and somehow managing to make a good struggle out of it. She managed to punch him in the jaw before he lashed out at her with his fist. River dodged, spinning around on her back leg, and bringing her leg up sharply to connect with his chest as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled down sharply, winding him.

But the effort to keep going seemed too much for her, and as Gwen ran to River's aid, the man kicked her squarely in the gut, and she crashed into the ground a good five feet from where she had been standing.

Before Gwen could even call out to her Lea was on him like a bulldozer with such a fierce snarl that she felt herself quail inside. It was too much for the crook to handle, he screamed in terror and ran away without a shred of dignity intact.

Lea forgot him almost instantly, and ran to River's side, nosing at her arms that covered her face, and whining in concern. Gwen rushed to his side to see if she needed help.

"River! Say something!" Lea pleaded desperately, licking her cheek and nudging her into a sitting position.

Her response was to curse in possibly every single language she knew, and force herself to get up. "I'm so going to feel that one in the morning…"

Gwen helped her to sit up, and Lea took a stance over them, bristling as the fight drew ever closer to their position. "You look terrible," Gwen frowned.

More that that, even; River's complexion was rather pale anyway, but it was always a healthy pale, more like extremely fair skin. She looked deathly white, with a tinge of another unhealthy colour that Gwen couldn't identify. "Does she always do this when she casts an strong spell?" she asked Lea.

"Puh," River tried to stand up but Gwen forced her down again. "That wasn't a strong spell, you should know that…"

"It was strong for you," Gwen countered.

"Stay put until the fight's over," Lea instructed, head bent low as the brothers were once again driven over to them. The larger one spotted them and decided to take his chances. Lea bent his legs, and he began such a volley of snarls that he was suddenly pulled up short, and stared at the wolf in open-mouthed amazement. "Try, just you try." Lea challenged viciously. "You touch her and I'll," he proceeded to vividly describe _exactly_ what he would do, which was enough to send the poor guy straight back into Steph's line of attack, screaming.

Gwen had never seen someone so fiercely angry or protective like that. It made her glad that Lea was on their team, she would have hated to go up against such a formidable opponent.

"Got it!" Kevin came running over to the as Julie started to move again.

The final straw broke the Vreedles back; they retreated with much haste, and only just managed to get away as Steph harried their ship as far into the atmosphere as she could reach.

Gwen felt herself wrenched from underneath Lea's protection and into someone's arms. "Are you all right?" said a low, urgent voice in her ear.

"Kevin…" she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "I'm fine, really."

He pulled away long enough to check her over for injuries, and rub her arms as though he was trying to soothe himself more than anyone else. She was only vaguely aware of Ship morphing back into a happy, bouncing blob and Ben almost tackling Julie to the ground in his haste to make sure she was okay too. Steph landed beside Mikey and cooed gently, fanning her wings before starting to preen her feathers. Lea settled himself down so River could lean against his side, and started licking the graze on her cheek.

After everyone took a moment to sort themselves out, they all convened around Lea and River before deciding what to do next. Before they could even begin a conversation, the Galvanic Mechomorph suddenly rematerialised out of nowhere, and complained about a developing headache. Gwen felt a bubble of hysteria work its way to her lips as River, at the mention of the word headache, fell back against Lea's side and closed her eyes with a groan.

Ben and Mikey stared at him in disbelief.

"Oh come on! You didn't think I was going to rematerialise with those dreadful _Vreedle_ Brothers around, did you?"

Gwen only half listened as he consented to letting Julie keep Ship, preferring to listen to Kevin breathing in and out as she laid her head against his shoulder. Judging by the firm hold he kept on her, he had been very worried about her while he had been on Coda Coda. Ben must have transformed back from the Lupus form, because When Gwen next saw him he was one hundred per cent his old human self.

. "You know…" he said slowly, looking Julie full in the face. "You are kinda putting strain on our relationship…" he nodded at Ship, who was bouncing on the spot like an over excited puppy.

Kevin suddenly laughed, and shook his head, saying, "It's just a dog Ben."

Steph hopped over and wiped her beak in his hair. "One minute later, and I would so have had those Vreedle's for sure. God's sake! You just _had_ to show up…"

"Oh yeah," Kevin grinned up at her. "You had _everything_ under control."

The two of them started arguing, and Gwen slipped out of his arms to go help River. Lea was already giving her a piece of his mind.

"…You know Taylor would have my fur if Miley and I let anything happen to you?" he seethed.

"Yeah, yeah…" River was on her feet, but wobbling. "Oh Jeez…" she clamped a hand to her forehead. "I have a headache like you wouldn't believe…"

Lea snorted. "I'm taking you to Miley, then _straight home_."

"Home's too far north," River argued. "Just take me back to the farm…" her speech was slurred, like the words were coming to thick and slow to leave her mouth properly to make her understood.

"That's where I'll take you." Lea said dismissively. "_After_ Miley has a look at you."

Mikey sauntered over and licked Gwen's cheek. "Sorry we took so long. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm worried about River, though…"

"You and me both," Mikey shuffled forward and licked River's forehead. "Lea, you going now?"

"Yes," he stood behind river, before taking a few steps back and squarely his stance up. A few quick strides, and he forced his nose between her feet on the ground. River stumbled, but when she fell over backwards, it was onto Lea's shoulders. "Alright up there?"

"Yeah…" River settled herself into a more comfortable position before falling face first into his fur.

"Hope you feel better soon…" Gwen said lamely, unsure what would be most appropriate.

River turned her face to the side so she could look at Gwen, and smiled wanly, giving her the thumbs up. "I'll sleep it off. I always do…"

"One of these days, it'll be with the fishes." Lea said darkly, setting off towards the trees on the other side of the lot.

"You know," Mikey bounded after him. "That doesn't even make sense."

"Shut up." Lea said.

"Shutting!" Mikey bounded out of his way. "See you tomorrow!" he called to Gwen before running after his brother.

OXOXO

**Tah dah!**

**I'll admit, I've written longer…meh, I wanted to introduce Taylor but I've run out of time; the revision guide calls to me. That will wait for the next chapter**

**Okay, so this was written over the course of several days, so I've reread most of it, but some bits I may have missed, so ignore my atrocious grammar and spelling. Also, I forgot the Vreedles names xD but since the last bit was from Gwen's POV I decided she didn't know either so she couldn't name them ;D**

**And I noticed that my sectioning thing of '-' doesn't seem to compute with anymore, so I changed tactics.**

**SO! Plz review, and if you have any ideas please by all means let me know; I need to bounce a few around before I make any major decisions. Your time and inspiration is greatly appreciated ;) and any theories on the new series, I've heard a few whacky ones on the net and I want your opinions**

**xxx**


	16. Family

**AN: WOOO! Exams are OVER, summer's coming, I'm FREEE! Oh joy! :D and for once that was not me being sarcastic. It feels so good to be sincere for once :)**

**I thank you all for your reviews ;) I thought after I updated 'oh maybe river+magic was a baaaad idea' but I'm glad you liked the plot twist :P**

**A special thanks to **Soulswallows **who posted the 100****th**** review for this story. I owe you a virtual mega hug and a year's supply of virtual cookies! ;)**

_**Family**_

It was surprisingly calm the next day, as calm as it ever got with Steph around. She and Kevin had been up early and were fiddling with the rig while the others arrived in drips and drabs. Gwen was amazed that by the time Miley and Lea dragged River into the garage, Steph and Kevin had only had two fistfights.

Miley seemed more relaxed than her brother, sitting and chatting to River and Gwen while they worked. Miley was filling out some forms on River's 'Plumber's approved' laptop on the rookies health, River herself was sketching and doodling aimlessly in a sketchpad, and Gwen was trying to ignore the English essay that sat across the table from her, demanding her attention.

River looked rather worst for wear; she had dark circles under her eyes and her face looked strained, but she managed to sit and laugh with Miley over perfectly ordinary things, even though Lea kept a close eye on her. There was something distinctly fragile about her physically, but despite the dark bands beneath them, her eyes were bright and alert, attentive to Miley's musings and lit up with her own amusement.

Approaching midday, Ben finally swept into the room, accompanied by Mikey on his skateboard, laughing so much it clearly hurt. Mikey stalked past without a word and went to sulk in the corner.

"Mikey," River wheedled, stretching out her arm to him.

No response.

"Michael. Arse. Seat. Here. Now."

He stalked over and fell into the seat beside her, snarling.

"Aww," Ben cooed. "Didums!"

Mikey stood as though he were about to go for Ben, but River placed a hand on his shoulder, and he apparently sat down again of his own accord. Considering River's state, it was just as well he did because she would never have been able to force him to do anything.

"And what has put you in such a foul mood today?" she asked evenly.

"Ben's gay. That's why." Mikey snapped.

"How so?"

"Aww, bless!" Steph swooped down on Ben, grabbing him by the elbows and lifting him off the ground. "Kevin, he's finally come out of the closet!"

She and Kevin laughed, and then ran for cover, leaving Lea to his own devices. Apparently, progress on the rig was very smooth after that.

"So what did mutton head do?" River pressed.

According to Mikey, he had been trying to court the Newman girl at the Burger shack, when Ben had scared her off by doing his famous burp. Miley and Gwen couldn't help but laugh, and even River's lips twitched like she was going to smile, but she kept her expression even.

"I'm sure she'll understand he's a-"

"Douche bag." Mikey put in.

"Bit immature." River went as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Give her a moment to get over the shock then go and tell her Ben was just being-"

"Gay." Mikey spat.

"I think that's offensive over here," Miley sniffed at her brother over the top of the screen.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.

"Colloquialism." River explained. "In England gay can mean annoying as well as homosexual. Although some people are more touchy than others about its use."

"Ben's just…Blargh!" Mikey stood up and stalked off.

"A man after my own heart," River said dramatically, then went back to her sketching. Blargh, Gwen had learned by now, was one of River's favourite words.

"What's that?" Miley asked, craning to have a look.

"Elednor." River grinned, holding it up to show her.

Gwen saw the faint beginnings of a flower, possibly a lily, surrounded by a shapeless mass of vague lines that reminded her of a campfire. "Eled…what?" she asked, confused.

"Okay," River put the sketch down and twisted in her seat so she could look at Gwen properly. "There's this book, right?"

Lea started laughing and came over to join them. "Here we go…"

River poked him in the ribs and continued, "Called _The Gift_ by Alison Croggon. And there's three others in the same series. The main character's Truename is from this made up language called The Speech, and it's _Elednor_ which means _Firelily_."

"Riv has this thing," Lea settled on the edge of the table and swung his legs back and forth, grinning. "There's this magnetic pull, no matter which book shop she goes into; she has to go to the Sci-fi and fantasy section."

"Hey!" She snapped. "Don't diss my favourite genre!"

He snorted. "If you can call it a genre…"

"Shut off," River snapped, taking up her pencil. "I was reading _The Singing_ this morning, and I was just thinking 'that'll make a nice picture!'"

"Why do I hang out with you?" Lea sighed dramatically.

"Cause I'm blonde." She said, reaching for the eraser. "And cause I'm cool."

"I'm so _not_ cool." Lea shook his head, unable to hide the smile on his lips.

"Why not?" Gwen asked. "You guys _are_ cool!"

The three of them laughed, but not unkindly.

"Cause some Muppets thought I was of a dubious nature," Lea was inspecting his fingernails with disinterest. "I hung out with my sister, and her two best friends most of the time in sixth form. Some of the more dense members of our 'sixth form community' thought I was gay and having an affair with my twin." He leered at his two friends, and River laughed.

Miley scowled.

"To be fair, you pretended to kiss me under the mistletoe for a dare when you were drunk on Albert Road." River pointed out, not looking up from the paper. "Janet had a camera on her and you should have known better than to be hanging out with _Jeremy_."

"I was drunk!" Lea protested. "And not that I want to bang you on the table or anything, but you were wearing a really pretty dress that evening."

Gwen was shocked at his words, but Miley laughed and River gave him a sardonic look. "Glad to hear you feel that way."

They looked at each other for a moment; Lea staring her down while River gave him a sarcastic glare.

"Get out of my sight."

"As her ladyship requests!" Lea jumped off the table and went back to the rig.

"And you're related to that thing?" River said to Miley.

"Don't get me started," Miley rolled her eyes.

"Hello,"

Gwen looked up to see Mel walking in, haloed in sunlight. It vanished for a moment as Steph dived at Ben, casting a shadow on the concrete, and for a moment it looked as though Mel had wings.

But the moment swiftly passed, as the battle outside waged on, and Steph was out of sight again. Gwen blinked at the unexpectedness of the moment, and jumped when Mikey sang "Halleluiah!" from his corner of the room.

Lea punched his arm and said, "Shut it, half pint."

"Hey Mel!" Miley said brightly.

"Hiya," River said, suddenly apprehensive.

"Hey," Gwen smiled.

"I know what you're gonna say," River said quickly as Mel came to sit in Mikey's vacated seat. "You're gonna tell me I was stupid and reckless and I'm far too protective for my own good and in the process endangered everyone else."

Mel sat silently.

"But now you won't," River went on. "Because I already said it, and now that I've already admitted to my mistakes out loud you're gonna feel that's punishment enough for me cause Lea's gonna give me _hell_ for this."

Still Melanie said nothing.

"And now I'm just wittering on for no good reason and making an ass of myself, aren't I?"

Lea and Mikey laughed, Miley stifled her giggles, and Mel smiled serenely.

"I'm not saying anything," she said simply.

"Alright, Lyndon!" River huffed. "It's not that hilarious,"

"Yeah i'is." The boys laughed in unison, the last two words said so quickly they blurred into one.

Gwen was laughing as well, but River just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Bellwood…Paris…Ottawa… Really, what difference does a few thousand miles make?"

"Cheaper or more expensive plane tickets." Miley pointed out.

"Oh yeah…" River mused.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Mel inquired.

Lea started laughing.

"Gwen, you got something I can throw at him?" Miley asked.

"Guys!" River pleaded. "Seriously. I've been designated peacekeeper of this team; you could at _least_ give me a hand!"

"But it's _Lea_!" Miley whined.

"But it's my _job_!" River mimicked her tone. "And I have a headache…"

"You didn't get them before when you were passing out…did you stop taking Dianne's medicine?"

"Yeah, like you told me to."

"Do you have it with you?"

"Hang on…" River rooted around in her rucksack.

Gwen took one last look at her essay before shoving it into her bag. Talking to the others was more interesting than picking apart _The Great Gatsby_.

River chucked a small see-through bag of powder onto the table and Miley scooped it up. "Interesting…"

"Icky," River corrected. "So!" she turned to Mel. "Deigned to join us in this hovel?"

"I thought I would check up on you lot."

River gestured outside. "I think I speak for the rest of humanity when I say-"

Ben leapt into the room and dived underneath the vacant table in the corner, followed swiftly by Steph and Kevin. Ben yelped and made a mad dash for it, but was knocked down by Mikey, then chased back outside with a huge lolloping black wolf on his heels.

"You know what? I don't even know why I bother…"

Gwen rolled her eyes, but couldn't suppress the smile that tugged at her lips. She watched Mikey rear up on his hind legs and howl plaintively to Steph before a hazel wolf knocked him down. Steph landed a way off, laughed, then started preening herself before Kevin jumped on her, grabbing her wings and pinning them to her sides to prevent her escaping. Steph shrieked and started pecking at his face to get him off, running around in circles like some colossal chicken.

"Gwen," Miley said, pulling her from her reverie. "How did you stay sane?"

"I don't know," she laughed.

"Good thing I came when I did!" River said with mock concern. "So tell me, how does it feel?" she took Gwen's hand in both of hers and leaned over the table like they do in the movies. "It's alright, I want to help. We can get through this, but you have to work with me,"

Gwen doubled over with laughter at the sincere look on her face, spoiled by the mischief in her eyes.

"It's okay! Denial is to be expected in the face of utter madness," River waved a hand at the four fighting on the asphalt. "You can open up to me, I promise I'll take care of you,"

"Dun-dun-dun…" Lea began.

"Shut _up_!" River had to yell over the noise outside to make herself heard.

"_DUN!_" Lea nearly fell over from his perch by the rig as he laughed.

"Gwen and I are having a heart to heart here, buzz off,"

Gwen looked up in time to see Mel roll her eyes and take out a book. Miley laughed over the keyboard, and River went back to her picture with a grin on her face. Still giggling, Gwen started her own doodles on the edge of a sheet of paper Steph had discarded as junk.

"You need a sense of humour to survive in the forces." River said lightly, although there was a weight behind her words.

OXOXO

Kevin jumped out of Ben's way, and he skidded forward on his four feet, yelping as he crashed into a wall. Mikey frolicked around him, barking with laughter, tongue lolling from his open mouth.

"You were doing so well last night!"

"These legs are weird!" Ben complained, getting up and charging at Steph.

She fanned her tail and raised her wings like a praying mantis. "Bring it, bitch!"

They continued this way for a while, earning several bruises each, until Mikey suddenly stopped and stood rigidly still, ears pricked and tail immobile. Sadly, Kevin and Ben only noticed this after they ran into him, and Steph landed heavily on his shoulder, making them all fall over.

"What!" Steph snapped, dusting herself down with a flick of her head that rippled across her whole body, shedding dirt as she did so.

"Listen," Mikey's ears were swivelling around slowly, like a satellite dish homing in on a signal.

Ben stood up and exaggerated the same stance. "What is it?"

"Sounds like…" suddenly he was bounding back to the garage and yelping loudly.

"What now?" Miley demanded to know, standing on the threshold.

"Taylor's jeep!" he barked, prancing back and forth in paroxysms of delight. "Due north!"

Miley looked at the sky, and said, "Don't you mean east?"

River joined her at the threshold and laughed. "Too bad he didn't bring his sister's truck. You can hear it back firing for miles…!" She looked tired and run down, but her expression was full of life and energy.

"Careful!" Miley followed River as she walked across the asphalt.

Lea came to join them, followed by Mel as an unfamiliar vehicle rolled into the area. It was a dark colour, though exactly which one was hard to tell under the layers of mud and dust that caked the paint job. Kevin internally cringed on the poor car's behalf. It pulled to a stop by River's rickety old truck, and even before the engine was killed the driver jumped out.

All Kevin had known about River's boyfriend was that he was from some reservation that began with 'T', and he wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting of the guy.

The man that leapt from the driver's seat was visible for only a second before River tackled him against the side of the car, laughing as she did so. When she pulled away, Kevin got a good view of him, and began mentally assessing him, only realising what he was doing when Miley swept forth to give him a hug as well.

Taylor was tall, not as tall as Steph, but still about half a head taller than River, who was already long in the leg and over six feet. He was extremely broad in the chest, and the dull, dusty brown shirt he wore seemed to accentuate the muscles beneath it. Taylor looked powerful, even when all he did was stand there and laugh as Miley and River gushed excitedly at the same time the way girls do when all keyed up.

His face was broad, with an aquiline nose, and framed with a curtain of black hair on either side. Kevin hadn't had much to do with natives, and the stories he had heard had led him to believe that they had red skin; he felt stupid believing those misguided fables when he saw that Taylor's was a dark brown come russet colour, with deep set eyes that, even from a distance, had a spark not unlike the twinkle in River's eyes when she was having fun with her friends.

Even from that first initial glance that lasted about ten seconds, Kevin could immediately see what drew those two together. The brief time he had spent with River had acquainted him well with her personality, and he already felt like he'd known her for ages. Then again, he felt that way about Steph; she was his long lost twin as far as he was concerned.

The due amount of fuss was made over the new arrival, and River took Taylor's hand, dragging him forth to meet the others and introduce them. He already knew the majority, and spent a few minutes catching up with them, but he was incredibly warm in his greeting. Kevin was very taken aback when Taylor shook his hand firmly with a genuine smile on his face before River introduced Ben, whose collar was skewiff and had a bruise developing on his temple from the force of Mikey tossing him against the wall by his ear.

It was only after they took the conversation inside that Kevin remembered that he was not wearing his ID Mask. Either Taylor was blind, or someone had primed him; River was the most likely suspect, but understated acceptance that was untainted by any negative reaction left Kevin feeling rather vulnerable. He could handle yelling and insults, but the quiet understanding River had brought with her arrival, and now Taylor's brief, amiable greeting, was throwing him even more out of balance.

At least Taylor took up all the attention so Kevin could skirt around the edges of the conversations unnoticed. He found himself studying them with a kind of fascination, and wondering whether this was how River had managed to 'suss him out'. Lea gave Taylor a bear like hug before demanding to know what was happening on 'Da Rez'. It didn't take long at all for the room to clear, not after Mikey took a step back, fell over Gwen's chair, grabbed Ben's sleeve to remain standing, and sending them both over a tool box and onto Steph's back. Naturally, she shrieked, promised to flay them to within an inch of their lives, and drove them from the building in disgrace followed by a healthy dose of fireballs.

"Nice to see you have everything under control here," Taylor said brightly.

River gave him a sarcastic look. "I'm not the commander. I'm the resident clinical psychologist."

"Resident _nutcase _more like…" Lea muttered to himself, perching on the hood of Kevin's car since Miley and Mel had taken up the remaining chairs.

"Yes Lyndon," River said condescendingly. "We already established that. Well done for noticing. Moving on," She and Taylor were leaning against the far table, within everyone's range.

Kevin was floating around by Gwen's shoulder, remaining mostly unnoticed as he fidgeted and watched, ignoring Steph's cry for blood from outside.

"You're the baby sitter," Taylor began.

"You're here five seconds and you're already making assumptions," River put on an annoyed air, but the light in her eyes belayed any harsh remark. "We don't tolerate that under this roof!"

"Well, I'm truly sorry. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

"Hmm," River made a show of deliberating over the issue. "I'll think about it," she said slyly, smiling so sweetly that Kevin's teeth ached.

Lea coughed loudly, and the others started laughing. The banter continued like this for a while, gently mocking each other, and eventually Kevin became bored. Gwen was staring at a piece of lined paper as though her pen would start writing of its own accord.

"Stuck?" he asked.

"Mmm…" she gave him a forlorn look. "There's only so much to write about…I'm bored."

"Bored's such a blasphemous word," Taylor laughed at them, but not unkindly.

"Not around here," River sniffed, looking away across the room.

Miley sniggered as Taylor looked at River in disbelief. "You? _Bored_? Is that even possible?"

"It's just…" she inspected her fingernails with great intensity. "Shit here, if I'm honest,"

"Hey!" they all looked up to see Ben blocking the sunlight into the workshop. "Don't diss Bellwood!"

Mikey ran by, knocking him over before rallying back to Steph and starting a football chant for England, and then they both morphed and fled Echo Echo's wrath. Gwen sagged against the table and ignored them all studiously while Kevin snickered at Ben's plight. Two to one, and both Transmorphors; Ben was royally screwed.

"What's so bad about this place?" Taylor hedged, poking River in the ribs.

Kevin noted how when anyone else did this, River normally swore (in any given language) or made an attempt to exact revenge for her bruised sides. Taylor got away with it Scott free.

"There's a friggin' desert!" she began, and Kevin got the impression this was a list of genuine complaints. "It's dry and dusty, it only rains if there's a storm, the beach is too sandy, and the general public, present company excluded, are morons."

There was a pause.

"You sure you're not suffering withdrawal symptoms from my fudge?" he produced a bag out of nowhere and handed it to her with a flourish.

Her expression was priceless, like a little kid on Christmas day who's just been given the largest present from under the tree. River took the bag like it was a holy relic, and looked up at him with reverence. "Have I told you I love you today?"

Taylor held up a finger to silence her. "Hold that thought," and he swooped down to press his lips against hers.

It was unexpected, and Kevin didn't know how best to react to the sudden heat in his cheeks. He was compelled to look away, trying to block the playful jeers from the twins. He chanced a glance their way again as Lea's cat calls died down, but Taylor was still glued to River, so he looked away again.

It wasn't like Kevin to be embarrassed, but he just wasn't comfortable with public displays of affection. Something just…didn't feel right, like love was something special and private, that didn't need to be broadcast so overtly.

Lea grabbed a dirty rag from the floor, wound it into a ball and threw it at them, breaking them apart from the seams. Taylor laughed, and River smiled with tranquillity akin to Mel's ever-serene countenance. "What now?" Taylor asked good-naturedly.

"I've been slaving all day over this bloody computer. Stop making out and give me some fecking fudge!"

"All right, I'll give you fudge," River said sweetly, grinning evilly. She pelted him with the bag, and then dived for cover.

Lea sprang into action, diving after her and scooping her up in an awkward bridal style – awkward, because she struggled so valiantly against him while Miley tugged on his arm in a vain attempt to save her friend. The whole effect was marred by their laughter.

"Hey, Taylor, I found this. I think its yours." He dumped River on his lap and strode away.

"Get back here!" she jumped to her feet and ran after him. "I'm not done hitting you!"

There was no competition; Lea could wipe the floor with her any day, especially when River was run down like this. All the same, he humoured her by allowing a few of her punches to get through as she chased him around the workshop. Finally, when Lea decided enough was enough, he grabbed her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder.

"Okay, enough games. I actually have to work now," he dumped her on a chair.

"You? Work?" Miley snorted.

River shook her head, trying to contain her laughter. "You spack," she shot at Lea.

He flung something at her, but missed by miles, which brought on another round of laughter.

"Well _that_ was crap," River said conversationally.

Gwen sniggered at his expense.

Taylor stood up and stretched his arms. "Please say you have some food," he pleaded.

Lea grabbed the bag of fudge and shoved a handful into his mouth. "Nope." He said pleasantly.

"Come on," River stood up and held out a hand to him. "We'll go get something for you to eat."

He took it and they left the room.

Kevin saw Miley and Lea exchanging knowing looks while Mel remained as serene as ever.

"It's so nice to have the gang all here." Miley said.

"The entire 'gang' of which you speak is spread across several continents." Lea reminded her from under the table on which the rig was placed.

"You can't forget the rest of sixth form community." Mel added.

"How many people is that, exactly?" Gwen asked.

"The entirety of Hampshire for a start," Lea laughed.

The twins began listing names, and Kevin went back to his car, tuning them all out.

Taylor seemed…okay. An afternoon wasn't really long enough to get to know someone, but since he fitted in so well with River and Miley, and even Lea, then he had to be decent.

More than decent, if he had driven all the way down from Canada to see his girlfriend.

XOXOX

"Mine? Or yours?" Taylor asked, looking between the cars.

"Mine," River unlocked the door and got in. "It's tanked up on gas. Give your poor jeep a break!"

Taylor grabbed her arm and tugged her out of the driver's seat. "Lea told me about your little stunt last night," he said, face dark with anger.

"Oh." _Shit_. River smiled sheepishly. "I wasn't gonna just stand there like a lemon."

Taylor glared at her.

"Come on!" she whined. "Look, I'm fine, see? I'm still alive," She let him force her into the passengers seat and didn't complain when he removed her car keys from her pocket. "You worry too much," she grumbled.

"No," Taylor backed out of the space, avoiding Steph and Mikey expertly, and pulled onto the main road. "I worry _just_ the right amount, considering the stupid things you do."

River folded her arms and looked straight ahead. The silent treatment generally worked unless he was _really_ angry, in which case it often made things worse, but she was confident he wasn't as mad as he was making out to be.

Eventually, he surrendered and kissed her cheek. "You know I love you, right?" he said, his tone pleading.

"Yeah," she smiled at him. "And I'm sorry I scared you. You know I don't like standing on the side lines when…"

"S'okay," Taylor said brightly. "I'll just chain you to the floor next time."

"I invite you to try," she teased back.

"Where to?"

"Steph managed to find a nice fish and chip shop nearby when she first came here," River directed him to Mr Smoothies parking lot, and he pulled into a space. "I'm supposing you have American dollars?" Of course he didn't.

"Well…ya see, the thing is…"

River laughed at his sheepish expression.

"I kinda spent most of it on fuel…"

"Don't worry, I'll pay."

"But-"

"My treat! Think of it as a pay back for all those ice creams." Not that she would ever get away with it, but River insisted on returning his hospitality from the day they had first met in Victoria; he had helped her find her lost wallet and bought her an ice cream before getting on the bus with her to make sure she made it to West Sooke in one piece. Taylor was adamant that she owed him nothing, and River was adamant that she did.

"Fine…" he growled, reaching into his pocket. "Here, I brought this with me," he produced a little wooden box he used for his finer blades. It was her solid silver charm bracelet, with the small, beautifully carved animals made from deer bone clipped around it.

"Oh!" River flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Thank you so much!"

Taylor grinned, and fastened the chain around her wrist. "And I added a new one…"

River checked it, starting from the clip. Wolf, orca, salmon, owl, otter, bear, deer, eagle, cougar…and a horse. The legs were incredibly thin, but as she ran a finger over the surface, she saw that he had reinforced it with a special resin that was normally used to build canoes.

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

"And I took the liberty of dragging your guitar down, since you left it on my bed."

"You think of everything," she laughed, pulling him in for a kiss.

She had missed him so much, more than she was willing to admit, and mainly because whenever she left BC there was a set return date when she knew she would be home: this job was rather open ended.

Taylor's stomach growled and he pulled away, embarrassed.

"Didn't you have breakfast?" she asked, knowing the answer.

"No. I was only a few miles away. I wanted to get here ASAP,"

River opened her door, and he took it as a signal to take the keys from the ignition. He locked up and took her hand as she led the way to the fish and chip shop.

Not the most healthy of meals, but it was a tradition they had faithfully kept since that summer five years ago. It was one of those things that no one but they understood, like the fudge and that bench outside the Royal BC Museum; just part of the way they did things together.

Taylor complained loudly while they waited for his cod to be cooked that there were no salmon down here, annoying the pockmarked youth who was serving them. River elbowed him in the ribs, smiled warmly at the teen and thanked him for the food before dragging her man back to the parking lot. She bought a couple of smoothies and handed him one before sitting down in the truck bed to eat.

They sat facing each other, legs stretched out side by side so that River's trainers were touching Taylor's short pocket, and vice versa. They eat in comfortable silence; River revelling in Taylor's presence, and Taylor stuffing his face with food. Who could blame him? Driving was incredibly wearing on the stomach.

He finished eating before she did, and they talked about nothing in particular, just skimming through easily exhaustible topics and wondering aloud how the others back home were doing. Taylor skirted away from talking about his father's reaction to his sudden departure, and River didn't feel like broaching that particular topic.

Taylor's mother, Daphne Pelkey, absolutely adored her and thought she was the best thing since sliced bread. His three brothers Jackson, Sam and Jed thought she was a great laugh and enjoyed teaching her how to build canoes, make spears and go hunting for fish in the streams before carrying it all down to the beach and cooking it in a bed of coals covered in leaves. Chrissie, the only daughter in the family, loved braiding River's hair and showing her how to make clothes, even going as far as making her a tribal dance shawl and insisting that she come to one of their celebrations. No one held it against her when she failed epically at their dances, it was rather endearing, even though River vowed to remove Jed's eyes with a rusty spoon when she was done picking twigs from her hair.

Taylor's father, on the other hand…

He didn't like the 'pale faces' as he constantly referred to them as, and hardly ever left the reservation. He thought it a crime to encourage European culture in British Columbia, especially on the Rez. River tried her best to adapt to his culture, not only for Taylor's sake, but because she relished in the traditions and customs, which were so far removed from anything she had known in Portsmouth, UK. Even when she showed her willingness to adjust her ways to that of the T'souke Nation, she still gained no favour in his eyes.

River sometimes talked to Chrissie about it, and often with Lea and Mel, but she felt that she couldn't really moan about it to Taylor like she wanted to. He groaned about his old man a bit too, but they never really spoke the way she was treated by him. River knew he just had to have noticed, even if he couldn't put it into words. Chrissie demanded to know why she never confronted any of them about it, but River pleaded her silence, her constant excuse being that she wouldn't cause any more dissension in the ranks than she already had.

Abbie's little boy was coming along fine, and Taylor showed her a picture. River cooed over the little angel, noting how he looked just like his mother, and that expression she had seen on Taylor's face so many times before came back. The way the skin of his cheeks pulled against the structure of his bones, the crinkle around his eyes and the far away look in his eyes that signalled he was thinking deeply.

"I know what you're thinking," she told him.

"Mmm…"

Since Abbie had become pregnant, it had made them think about their own future. Five years is a long time to be dating and not get married, but they hadn't the money between them for that, or to buy a house or anything. With a succession of cousins falling pregnant, Taylor had asked out loud about kids; he wanted desperately to have a family with River, but for once she had been the one with her feet firmly on the ground, pointing out that he still lived with his parents while she lived forty-five minutes away in the city. Both trying to get their careers off the ground, the last thing they needed to worry about was babysitting, and River refused to let anyone but them raise any child of theirs.

Truth be told, she wanted to have children as much as he did, but the logistics needed to be firmly ironed out before they made any move in that direction. The deal they had struck in the end was that, when they had a house and paid off the mortgage, they would start a family.

Marriage was another worry for River. Her dad used to talk about walking his little girl down the aisle at a big white wedding at Portchester Castle where he had married his own wife. And then Chrissie had jokingly said that if they did get married, it should be on the Rez in true T'souke style. River's heart plummeted when she thought of trying to marry not only herself and Taylor, but also their two cultures together. It was the bride's prerogative, after all, to get married on their home turf. Another thing that would nail the lid of George's coffin if he deigned to acknowledge their union.

But all of these worries were nothing in the grand scheme of things, when River knew she was completely at ease with Taylor.

Love was love was love, and she was certainly head over heels for him. Nothing else really mattered, she could live without getting married or having kids, if it was not possible or whatever.

Still, it would be nice…

"How's the job going?" Taylor asked eventually, stealing a chip from her polystyrene box.

"Good," she told him about what she had been doing, what she was going to do, and what she hoped she would achieve. Being a clinical psychologist was all well and good, but she wanted to move away from studies on juvenile criminals to caring for the deeply traumatised. She connected so well with the kids on the studies and helped them get a grip back on reality, that she wanted to be able to continue helping without being penalised for messing the methodology up.

Her firm belief that they were humans and not lab rats had not endeared her to many of the 'professors' of criminal psychology.

In turn, she pestered Taylor about the commission. After she poked him enough times, he admitted he had been declined for the original job, but he was hoping that they might ask him to do something else.

"And this guy from Washington was talking to Uncle Ben and Art in the harbour a couple of days before I left." Taylor grinned, stealing some more chips. "He wants a totem pole for his son's wedding present, and Art said if I help him, he'd split the money with me."

"Awesome," River smiled. "I won't have to source a second job now!"

He scowled at her, and she laughed.

"I caught the guy with the place on the edge of the Rez," he said when he got over his tantrum. "Haven't seen it yet, but he said when we're free he'd like to show us around."

"How much does he want for it?"

"Not much, considering its right by the sea," Taylor quoted a figure.

"Wow," she was gob smacked. "That's more than very reasonable! You think we can make that amount?"

"Sure! Just need to float around and make some commissions…"

"I bet you could make some wooden stuff here and sell it at the market next weekend."

"You reckon?" Taylor stretched out a hand to take part of her battered sausage.

River raised her hand menacingly with her wooden fork, and he gave up.

"Yeah, just get a permit from the office in town and go crazy. I bet you'd make quite a lot."

As he considered this idea, River finished eating and started on his smoothie.

"I'll need wood…" he frowned, sipping his drink. "Lemon and lime?" he said brightly.

"Yup." She grinned. "Don't worry, I'll sub you,"

"Seriously, I feel bad when I sponge money off you like this." he pouted.

"You know I don't care," she argued back. "You paid for me to go on the London Eye, right?"

"Well, yeah but…"

"Consider us even."

"But I bought you that PJ set from David and Goliath, and you said _that_ made us even."

"Make me something nice and I'll call this quits."

"You're impossible!" Taylor grouched.

"You love it really," she purred, winding him up even more.

Taylor sighed, and gave her that deep, meaningful look of his. "Yeah," he agreed, leaning over to kiss her. "I really do."

XOXOX

Steph's day just kept getting better and better.

Dylan was taking the kids swimming, and Tom was getting ready for a trip upstate to see a friend of his. Gerald decreed that pizza was in order since her mother was going to a craft group that evening, and her dad dropped by for an unexpected visit.

That, on top of having Taylor to mess around with, made her day.

After the two love birds had monopolised each other's attention that afternoon, Steph claimed him for a rousing round of smash brothers, dragging Mikey, Ben and Kevin into it too. Lea managed to dig out the lead that allowed more than four players, and with so many characters on the screen it was almost impossible to work out who was who.

They confined the madness to the living room, preferring to keep the destruction zone to a bare minimum. After they had eaten and cleared up, the boys waged their war among themselves, and Steph taught Ian how to play so they an even number of players, and they went crazy.

Steph was vaguely aware of Gwen and Mel talking about some TV show, and River and Miley gossiping like they were still in high school. After copious amounts of swearing, tears and onscreen bloodshed, Ian, Lea and Taylor gave up the game and left the other four to their own devices. Upset that her father abandoned her when they had been having so much fun, Steph whined until Mikey and Ben challenged her to an ever-lasting duel, and she dragged Kevin in to support her.

"Yes!" she pumped her fist into the air and slapped Kevin's raised hand in celebration as they wiped the others clean off the screen with minimal effort – for the tenth time in a row.

"Going on eleven," Kevin said smugly, smiling sweetly at Ben.

"Oh, you're going down," Ben promised, grabbing Mikey by his eyebrow ring and calling, "Huddle!"

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow BEN! Not the ring! Painful! Ow! Dude, let go, that's not supposed to twist that way-!"

Steph found it hilarious and voiced her feelings on the matter with a loud bark of laughter. When Ben and Mikey regrouped, it was with a vengeance; Kevin was knocked off easily, and Steph was tricked into committing cyber suicide. She demanded a rematch, but Lea kicked her leg to gain her attention.

"What?" she snapped.

"Bed," he tapped his watch. "It's past midnight. Some people have school in the morning," he looked pointedly at Ben.

"I already did my A Levels," Mikey said with a grin.

"Ditto!" Steph crowed.

"I hate school," Kevin muttered.

"Aww," Steph hugged him. "I'm sure you'll live! It's not like they brain wash you or anything."

"Speak for yourself…" Mikey muttered. "Havant was way better than the sixth form any day. The facilities at school were shite."

There was a gasp from the sofa, and Steph saw that Miley, River, and Lea were gazing at him aghast.

"He just dissed the school that nurtured him into the person he is today!" River pretended to faint into Taylor's arms.

"Oh no he didn't!" Miley said, complete with hand gestures and all.

"Riv, babe." Taylor said patiently. "You wanted me to sell stuff at the market, get your hair out of the way before it gets cut."

"Sorry," she said unrepentantly, smiling at him.

"Get him!" Lea pounced on his brother.

Mikey yelped, and in a reflex reaction phased, running for the back door.

"You hold him down and I'll peck his eyes out!" Steph jumped to her feet.

"No pecking while your mother's out," Gerald said heavily.

"I'll deal with this," Ian stood up and strode over to her. "Come here, missy,"

Steph, knowing full well she was in deep shit, ran for it. Sadly, she only made it to the back door in the kitchen before her dad brought her back, kicking and screaming. He dumped her on the floor and sat beside her, gripping her wrists so she wouldn't escape.

"Don't give poor Gerald any more trouble. I'm amazed he put up with you for so long."

Gerald opened his mouth to speak in her defence, but River cut across him. "Blood bond, family loyalty. She's not worth it in the long run,"

"Yeah," Ian agreed. "I only came here to see Melanie."

Steph pretended to tear up in the eyes and gave a huge, obviously fake sob. "So you _don't_ love me!" she put her face in her hands, and felt her father hugging her, feeling his chest rumble with his laughter.

"Well, no!" Mikey said, having re-entered the room. "I mean, with a face like that…"

Steph jumped to her feet again, glaring at him.

Ben joined in the jeering, waving a hand out towards Steph that went close to Mikey's eyes.

"Argh!" she sprang back into a half crouch and snarled at Ben. "You touch my friggin' piercing again and I'll rip your friggin' throat out you-!"

Steph was momentarily side tracked by Kevin's comment of "Friggin' sharks,"

"With friggin' lasers," River continued.

They glanced at each other before saying in unison, "Attached to their friggin' heads!"

"You know Austin Powers?" Kevin asked.

"Duh! Who doesn't?"

They started talking about the movies and their favourite lines from each, completely redirecting the conversation from the original 'throw out time' comment from Gerald.

"Ah, the British Comedy tradition." Ian said with a dramatic sigh.

"Hey, Kevin," River stood up with her empty glass. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my underground lair."

She looked to him to continue, and he didn't disappoint. "I have gathered here before me the world's deadliest assassins, and yet each of you has failed to kill Austin Powers. That makes me angry."

"And when Dr. Evil gets angry, Mr. Bigglesworth gets upset. And when Mr. Bigglesworth gets upset..." she set her glass down and they both struck a dramatic pose.

"…People DIE!"

They received a round of applause for their act, and Gwen said with a huge smile. "I didn't know you liked Austin Powers, Kevin!"

"Let's make a DVD night of it!" Steph suggested.

"My, my," Taylor teased. "You've got yourself a new protégée!"

Kevin reeled, and sat down beside Gwen, refusing to look at River.

"Poor guy," she patted his head. "Traumatised enough without me adding to it."

"Bed time," Gerald would not be sidetracked this time, so they prepared to leave.

Just before the other's left, Steph turned to look at them all convening in the hallway by the front door. Ben and Mikey were arguing heatedly about something; Miley and Mel were talking to each other about something random, while Lea, Taylor and River were standing in the doorway to the front room discussing something that sounded political in nature; Gwen and Kevin were tucked away in the corner, speaking in low voices. Ian and Gerald were laughing over something they had done earlier, and Steph felt a warm glow in her chest at the sight.

Yeesh! She was starting to sound like River when she went all poetic.

"Get out of my house!" she pushed Kevin through the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Adios, bitch!" he punched her in the gut and ran done the driveway.

Gwen gave her a quick hug before following. "See you!"

Ben ran after her, avoiding Mikey's fist.

"Yeah, you better run!" he called after them.

"Until tomorrow," River bowed her head, grinning, before going through the door.

"Great seeing you all again!" Taylor said, hugging Miley. "We'll come by about ten tomorrow?"

"See you then," Lea grinned.

"Steph," Taylor swept upper up in a bear hug. "You are so worth the trouble of driving all the way down here to see you." he said sincerely.

"See?" she spat at her father. "_He_ likes me!"

"I flew through the vacuum of space to see you!" Ian protested, shaking his hazel and flame hair from his eyes. "Of course you're worth the fuss!"

Gerald shook his head and laughed. "We're just one big happy family."

"Big, yeah." Lea said. "But not so sure about happy…" they could hear Gwen and Ben arguing as they got into Kevin's car.

"We'll work on the details later." River promised. "Taylor! Let's go, I'm cold and I'm tired and you stole my keys."

XOXOX

**And that went on for a bit longer than I intended. What can I say? Once I get going I can't stop! Also, I would have updated before but after my final exam I slept for two days, and then I went on this activity day thing called acrobranch and I got strapped into a harness and flung into the trees for three hours (and eaten alive by mossies and sand fleas and found a tick on my leg when I got home. That was the single most scary part of the day) and then I thought it would be okay to stay up reading until gone midnight…. So yeah, mostly self inflicted on the tiredness part, but hey! :)**

**I realised I was putting River in a sort of 'has no fears/faults' light and I wanted to turn that round, plus I wanted Taylor to have a grand entrance to the story :D**

**I disclaim the Austin Powers quotes because I obviously wouldn't think them up on my own xD awesome as they are.**

**As ever, your reviews are greatly appreciated :P next update will come whenever I can tear myself away form my new reading book. It's called 'Poison Study' by Maria N. Snyder. I recommend this if you are a mature reader who likes fantasy :)**

**xxx**


	17. Positive

**AN: omfg I deserve to have my hand cut off :S so yeah, I thought that when the exams were over I'd have LOADS of time to write! But I was given a crap load of holiday work and roped into helping with the end of term service, dropped in it, and then I was abroad. With no friggin' Internet connection! We were told fastfood chains on the continent have free WiFi, and then my laptop was like 'NNNOOOO you can't connect cause I don't like this server NERR!' and I cried. :( but I'm here now! (kinda…) and that's what matters ;) had loads of time and inspiration knocking about Europe. **

**So! :D enjoy!**

**I may have screwed the plot up from my original plan, but the characters sort of took over this chapter and decided it was time for major plot upheaval.**

_**Positive**_

It was funny how you never seemed to notice how wound up or stressed out you were over something, until it was either resolved or removed.

Compared to Sooke, or even Victoria, Bellwood was densely populated; it was like a concrete jungle, and the arid landscape surrounding the town was harsh in comparison to the soft brown and green pines of the costal forests.

Taylor didn't like it much, but River seemed able to put up with the setting, albeit with copious amounts of whining.

Every time they had to part for whatever reason, it felt like someone had jabbed him in the chest with a blunt, splintered object. He had missed her when she had called to say she was on the ferry to Washington, and every time they had exchanged texts and emails, or chatted on Facebook, not knowing when he'd get to see her again.

Lea had contacted Taylor about River's little episode, and he had used it as the perfect excuse to drive down to see her ASAP. Truthfully, he knew that the twins and Mel could look after her, and that Steph and Mikey would destroy anyone who threatened her, but if Taylor was honest with himself, it was as much for his own sake as River's that made him grab the car keys that morning.

He'd get hell from his parents and his three brothers, but being able to sit here next to River in the crowded workshop was worth facing their wrath. Every thing was right when they were together; he could worry about the trouble he'd be in later. Living in the here and now was worth every ounce of his father's anger.

Lea was slaving away over the computer while Steph argued with the guy Taylor was sure was called Kevin. Mikey was lounging in the bed of River's truck, helping the red haired girl write an English essay while the other boy, most likely her brother or cousin, sipped a smoothie expertly.

Miley and Mel weren't catching them up until much later, which meant that while the others were occupied, Taylor could monopolise River's attention. She tried her best to ignore him, but gave in when he whittled a rough object out of his small tree stump and shoved it under her nose.

"See? It's a loon," he grinned at her.

She kept a neutral expression and a sarcastic tone, but that couldn't squash the bright, playful spark in her eyes as she said, "_No_, I thought it was a _swan_!"

"Pretty close," he said offhandedly, deliberately turning away from her.

After five minutes of silence, she slammed her book shut and confronted him. "Alright, I'll bite. What are you doing?"

"Well," he still didn't meet her eyes, instead focusing on his knife as he started defining the wings. "Miley said something about a market this weekend, and a place where I can get a permit to sell stuff. So I thought I'd start making some things to sell now."

"What you got?" River shoved her book away into her rucksack and leant her elbows on the tabletop.

Taylor grinned; he had her full, undivided attention now.

He had been messing around this morning while she had pranced around trying to find her missing keys, and he now tipped them from his burlap sack onto the table.

"Cool!" she went straight for the biggest, most shapeless lump and held it up for inspection. "Orca?"

He stared at her in amazement, shaking his head to himself with a smile.

"Or whale? Did I guess right?"

"Why don't you just decide which is which? Save me the trouble," he teased.

Taylor's uncle had taught him the art of woodcarving, and how to tell what lay inside the wood, waiting for the knife to uncover it. As always, River had a knack for feeling things out before he did. She always helped nudge him in the right direction; if the wood splintered or split, it meant it wanted to be something else, like a smaller salmon rather than an elk or a whale.

River set about weighing the pieces of wood in her hands, before randomly grouping them and taking a piece of paper and pencil from her rucksack. She started sketching, jumping from one piece to another indiscriminately, and forming several meticulous pictures.

The most amazing thing about them was the detail; Taylor would have to smile sweetly and ask Michelle for some paint and varnish, just plain carving would not do those designs justice…

"I need a new job," Lea said dramatically, falling into a seat opposite River.

She was still bending over her paper with intensity, too absorbed in her work to hear him.

"Hey!" Lea nudged her foot under the table.

"Huh?" River started, a jagged line of graphite streaking across the paper.

"You ignored me," he accused.

Taylor kept his mouth shut and his knife on the wood as the two of them started arguing. True, it wasn't anything like the way Steph could fight with people, but it was already wearisome and Taylor blocked them out. If she hadn't already taken a DNA test, he would have bullied her into to it just to see if she and the twins were related, the way they constantly bickered. Still, they were marginally more mature than Steph and her friends. Though judging by yesterday, that margin was growing ever smaller…

While River was verbally tearing Lea's throat out, Taylor removed her sheet of paper and started copying the designs. Some were three-dimensional statues that could stand unaided, while others were thick, flat slabs that could be hung on the wall. If they had some soapstone, Taylor could have made some more models to stick on driftwood; that always made the tourists stop and stare, and more often than not buy them.

"Lea!" Mikey called over the noise. "Can I use the internet?"

"Knock yourself out," he said vaguely over his shoulder.

"I've done that before," River said in an equally pensive way. "It wasn't fun."

Taylor was getting along with his work well until Mikey started swearing. Steph was on her feet and by his side in a heartbeat. "Sup?"

Mikey snarled to himself, and started punching the keyboard furiously with his fingertips.

"Oh," Steph turned to River, grinning. "Your department!"

"What is it?" she got up and sailed over to the screen. "Oh," the deadpan expression made Taylor laugh.

"What now?"

"Some muppet he knows is trying to convince him that Bear Grylls rules supreme and that Ray Mears is crap." She explained.

This would be interesting; River was a firm believer that Mears was _the_ original bush craft guru, and she disowned anyone who thought otherwise on certain grounds. Lea opposed her views, on grounds that just missed hers by the skin of its teeth. They were in for another argument as Lea stood to meet her stride with a challenge.

"Play nice," Taylor smirked.

"Quiet you," River shot at him. "I have a debate to win."

"In your dreams, Blondie," Lea swanned by to grab the keys to his bike.

"Oh, you did _not_ just go there, Lyndon!" she went after him with a vengeance.

The argument always followed the same pattern, the same points, and the same curses on both sides. River would lose based on the fact that Lea would make some witty comment and then drive off on his bike before she could make a comeback. Taylor listened to the sounds of their voices, and was surprised when River started back into the workshop before the engine started.

She spun on her back foot, pivoting into position before calling, "Two camels in a tiny car!"

Mikey and Kevin started laughing, obviously getting the joke; Taylor shook his head and sighed. River sat down beside him, looking very pleased with herself before Lea stormed in with a murderous gleam in his eyes, helmet resting against his hip.

Before he could get any words out, River said, "Cause you ain't got no pancake mix,"

He glowered at her.

"Shut off, Apple-Bee."

Lea didn't deign to respond, but chose instead to storm off outside, shoulders hunched against her insults.

"Yeah you better run!"

"River," Taylor said sternly.

"Aw, c'mon! He's tough enough and ugly enough to know I was just kidding!"

"And you say _I'm_ the immature one…" he shook his head.

"I'm connecting with my inner child," she said innocently.

"Inner demon, more like," Kevin shot at her.

Taylor frowned at the boy, inwardly debating whether River was offended by that remark. But she stared off at a thoughtful tangent through the open door, then turned to the boy and said, "It's entirely a matter of opinion, whichever way you look at it."

"How do you see it?" he pressed.

"I like to think my inner child is mostly good, but…you know, five brothers, twenty years under the same roof…"

"She was doomed from the start," Steph put in solemnly.

"Bastard!" Mikey shrieked at the screen.

"He raises an excellent point, though." Steph admitted, reading over his shoulder. "You have to admit."

"Admit my ass," River snorted. "No one beats Mears when it comes to surviving in the outdoors."

"I know someone." Taylor said brightly, deciding Kevin wasn't a threat.

That stopped her in her tracks. "Who?" she demanded.

"Your mom," he grinned. "She'd just pull a frying pan from her bra or something,"

"Yeah," River laughed. "She has like a bag of infinite holding which she takes abroad with her,"

It was a long-standing joke that in her family every woman had the ability to steal and carry England's Crown Jewels around without being noticed. Taylor remembered vividly the offhanded manner in which River's mother had produced all the camping equipment when they had been stranded at the ferry port in La Rochelle the one time he had agreed to go with them further abroad than England. Round trip of Europe, including all the best religious heretic centres done in the south; much as he loved it, he would never spend more than a week off the American continent again.

An ear splitting siren went off suddenly, making Taylor cover his ears and narrowly missed cutting himself on the knife. The teens sprang to attention at once, and the room was suddenly very quiet.

Taylor blinked, staring at the place where Steph and Mikey had been standing. "What…?"

"Duty calls," River huffed, checking her phone. "I have to go see Max later."

"But…?" Taylor was thoroughly confused by the sudden turn of events.

"They fight crime and stuff. It's a minorly major drawback to the title of 'supper heroes'."

Taylor considered her words as she milled around her truck bed, sorting through her rucksack. "Rather them than me."

"Just whittle that wood and shut up."

"I know my place," he sighed dramatically. "Under the stairs." With his bag of clothes that he had smuggled from his parents house to River's so he could sleep over at short notice.

He was hit in the face by her pastel blue shirt, bundled into a suitably aerodynamic ball. "I'm warning you,"

"Yes dear," he dumped it in the chair beside him.

River stormed around the table and reached for the collar of his t-shirt, eyes flashing blue in the light. "Alright, _mister_," she began.

Taylor sprang to his feet, grabbed her waist and flung her over his shoulder. Naturally, River shrieked, and started to protest. He dropped her into the truck bed, grinning as she struggled against him, giggling like a five-year-old girl.

Unable to sit up, since he kept pushing her down again, she rolled onto her back and knelt up, straightening her tank top out and flipping her hair back over her shoulder. As she did so, the jagged end of her scar poked out from beneath the top, winking at Taylor like an eye badly made up with mascara, fading somewhere from livid red to angry pink.

He reached out a hand to trace the line absentmindedly as she stood up and climbed over the edge of the truck bed.

"I actually have work to do…" she said in a feeble attempt to be rid of him.

"How long you reckon they'll take?" he changed the subject.

River shrugged. "Dunno. But I need to get started," she busied herself organising her paper pad, pencil case, and the shiny new folder she had bought that morning.

Taylor bided his time, going back to idle work on the wooden animals.

His patience was rewarded a few minutes later when River dumped the work and pounced on him. "What the hell," she murmured in her 'I've-stopped-caring-what-trouble-I'm-in' tone.

"Fine with me," he teased, running a finger down the line that lay beneath her shirt.

XOXOX

This had to be the worst mission. _Ever_. It was totally official, so much so in fact that Mikey thought they deserved a medal for this.

Some poor old dear on her way to the next sector had lost her precious herd of Black-eared Tiller Deer, and Max had roped them into assisting the capture since the rookies had failed so spectacularly.

This species of deer were from, surprise surprise, from the planet Tiller, home to a peaceful and somewhat dim-witted race of humanoids that resembled upright crocodiles like a race called the Bangaa from one of the RPGs he'd played.

The Black-eared breed was, unlike their red and blue cousins, a real nuisance; unless you were looking for a demolition team on the cheep. Max's concern was the new block of apartments on the edge of town that was being built, because the Beta Male had been seen sniffing around the place earlier. The herd was moving in a vaguely eastern direction towards the site, but Gwen and Kevin had gone on ahead to set up a barrier to catch them before they could start eating at the concrete supports.

Lea had rounded up Miley, Ben, and Pierce to help in the ambush, while Cooper and Manny readied the containment pod that they would hopefully stash the entire herd in. Helen was busy with Alan keeping the communication going between the groups, while Steph swung high overhead, too far away to be seen for what she really was, watching the herd's general movement and reporting it back to Helen, who directed Lea and the others to intercept them.

Too bad Mikey's natural hair colour meant he couldn't be part of that group. He'd had to roll in the dust and mud to make his scruffy black hair lie flat and dull, making it harder for the deer to see him as he crept forward through the undergrowth.

Not only were they helping someone out, but this exercise also encouraged team effort and taught them to work together as one.

Bullshit, in essence.

Or common sense, depending on how you looked at it. There was no choice _but_ to work together, even if Kevin and Manny had been about to beat each other's brains out, or Steph managed to malfunction the watch thing Cooper had given her and started blaming Ben for sabotaging it.

After Lea had cuffed them all round the head and sent them scurrying off in different direction with smarting egos, everything had run smoothly. Mikey had scurried off with his tail firmly between his legs, whining loudly, but he made the best of the situation. He'd managed to get mud caked into Steph's hair for one thing; he would pay for that, but for now the gales of laughter that had followed him out into the desert had been worth Steph's indignant fury.

"…_Plan B set up?_" came Helen's soft whisper through Mikey's badge.

"_We're good,_" Kevin hissed back, sounding as frustrated as Mikey felt.

"_Ambush party?_"

"Sure," Mikey murmured, lowering his head to the ground and waiting for a moment while the others verbalised their assent.

"_Wait_," Steph said. "_They just changed direction._"

"_Where to?_" Lea asked.

"_Towards Kevin and Gwen_."

Mikey rolled his eyes. Plan A never worked, _ever_…

"_Shift positions_," Lea ordered. "_Ben, fall back and skirt around the north side the come back. Miley, south. Pierce, join Gwen and Kevin._"

"_What about the pod?_" Ben reminded them.

Mikey laid himself as flat as possible as a deer wondered towards him. If it saw him and bolted now, they would have to start from square one, and he would be so very tempted to eat one of the bastards if it came to that.

"_Almost forgot!_" Lea admonished himself. "_Manny, Cooper. Get the pod to them. Gwen, can you funnel them into the pod?_"

"_I'll need help,_"

"_You got it!_" Cooper said loudly and enthusiastically.

The deer raised its lime green head, its large black ears swinging back and forth as it tried to catch the sound on the wind.

"Ssh," Mikey groaned quietly. "I've got one about ten feet from my nose. _Shut up_."

The line went silent for a moment. Then, "_In position?_"

"_Hurry, they're starting to wonder._" Steph warned.

"_Gwen?_"

"_All ready. But I can't hold this for long, it's too big._"

"_Ambushers, line up along the perimeter._" Lea's voice wavered over the connection, like he was running. "_Ready?_"

There came a murmur of assent from all parties.

"_Go crazy, bro,_"

Mikey grinned a wolfish grin, picturing his brother's expression as he spoke. "With pleasure."

He tensed his muscles, preparing to dive head long at the bright green head that bobbed above the grass line.

A crack from a nearby tree that looked dry and rotten startled the deer and it pranced away towards the rest of the herd, out of Mikey's immediate range.

That was it! The final straw in a series of aggravating developments, which had broke Mikey's back. Furious with the deer, the tree, and himself, he sprang up from the sparse undergrowth and charged at the herd, voicing his annoyance as he went.

The herd bolted as one, and he chased them down the slight hill towards the building site, egging them onwards further north to where the trap lay. Once they were close enough, his siblings came out of hiding, and Ben leapt to join Mikey at the rear. Together they forced the herd to follow their desired course, and straight into Gwen's webbed manna net. Once they were confined there, still in a state of panic, Pierce and Manny started to set up make shift barrier that would hold them the better part of half an hour, giving Cooper and Helen time to shunt them into the pod.

Not quite what Lea's improvisation had been, but Mikey would take it.

Gwen's manna ebbed and drained, but she placed a powerful spell to help the barrier stay up against the first onslaught of hungry mouths. It took a moment for the pod to open, but once it did, Kevin and Manny climbed inside the enclosure and started shooing the already nervous herd inside.

"What happened to lead and feed?" Mikey asked, chewing his brother's ear in a friendly, welcoming gesture.

"Should've placed Ben further west." Lea sighed, raising his head so Mikey lost his grip. "The herd scattered. Gwen saved Plan B, though." He grinned at her as she stumbled over, looking weary,

Mikey bounded over and licked her face in welcome. "Bellwood's own master magician!" he crowed.

She smiled, and pushed him away. "I think the guys will need some help," she nodded at Kevin, who was chasing a stag with an anvil shaped fist.

"Come'ere!" he yelled at it.

"How are you kids doing?" Max arrived, with the old biddy in tow.

Just before Lea could say anything about the herd, whether tactful or not, Kevin interrupted them by being tossed out of the enclosure via the stag's ragged antlers.

Mikey leapt out of the way with a yelp, narrowly missing what would have been a painful experience. Ben, still in the unnamed Lupus form, fell over with laughter at Kevin's expense. Mikey nosed at his shoulder, before trying to get his teeth into the scruff of his neck. It was hard, but he managed it, and lifted him back onto his feet. Gwen rushed over and started fussing over his well-being, and Kevin stormed off as Ben's howls of laughter became even louder.

Lea cuffed him round the head, effectively silencing him with a growl.

"All under control then?" Max asked brightly.

Miley flopped down beside Gwen and panted heavily. "Need water,"

"_We have a runner!_" Steph informed them from above. And sure enough, a break had appeared in the barrier, and five deer were running away. "_Headed south_," Steph added helpfully.

Gwen ran to help Kevin and Pierce patch up the hole and stop others from escaping, while Lea sprang to action again.

"Oh no!" the old lady cried. "Bettan!" she pointed dramatically at an incredibly fat doe. "She's a week away from giving birth! Do something!"

"Leave this to me!" Ben said cockily, turning on the spot and diving after them.

"Ben! _Wait_!" Mikey shouted, plunging after him. "It's pregnant! Leave that one to Miley!"

Either Ben didn't hear, or he did and failed to understand which one he meant. Lea picked the eldest doe from the group off, and chased it back to Gwen, while Mikey forced a doe and two fawns towards Miley, who passed them onto Lea. Ben still went for the heavily pregnant doe, and Mikey had to take him out to save the mother and unborn deer.

Ben gave a sharp yelp of surprise as Mikey got his teeth into his neck. He tried to rear up and bucked his hind legs in a futile attempt to shake off his attacker, but Mikey had fought the toughest members of his clans, and an inexperienced juvenile like Ben was no match for Mikey's experience.

Suddenly, light flashed, and they both fell to the ground with a thump. Ben stared up at him dazedly from a pink and fleshy face.

"You idiot!" Mikey snapped. "You could have caused that doe a miscarriage!"

Miley flew past them on her way to pursue the doe. She slowed when she reached a suitable distance, and started playing an elaborate game of home run, goading the doe back to the pod with the others.

Ben looked repentant enough, so Mikey let him sit up. "I didn't know which one was pregnant." He said sheepishly.

"The massively fat one. How could you _not_ notice?" Mikey chided, hoping he hadn't offended Ben too much. They jogged behind Miley as she slowly wound the way back to the owner.

It took nearly an hour after that to get them all rounded up, and Mikey wanted to keel over in a dramatic fashion, but he was covered in dust, mud, sand, insect bites, and god only knew what else. All he wanted was a nice hot shower and a long nap, but the old woman fussed over them and made many thanks over and over.

Miley, the bitch, made an excuse that she had to go see River and ran away early before the woman could get her hands on her. She had smiled slyly at Mikey just before she disappeared, and said, "Have fun!" before loping away towards the town, and her bike.

So totally _not_ fair!

XOXOX

When the deer herd had finally been taken into orbit, Max went to go find the children. They were all sheltering under a large tree in the only patch of land that still had vibrantly green grass. Piled in and around the base of the trunk, Mikey sat apart with his brother, panting in the heat, while the others passed a canister around and took turns to drink from it.

He was pleased they had managed to marshal themselves so quickly every time the circumstances changed. As he told them this, instead of rejoicing like he had thought they would, they wilted further until Steph moaned, "Uncle Max, can we go home now?"

"Come on then," he laughed at their sullen faces. "I'm very proud of what you all did today."

Steph managed to fall flat on her face trying to take off, and while Ben, Kevin and Gwen trudged off to Kevin's car, Mikey and Lea sauntered off towards the town as they were, on four legs with bushy tails swinging back and forth.

"Now then," Mikey managed a weak bravado. "Where did I _park_…?"

Max had turned his attention to the rookies, and didn't see Lea's reaction; only heard the yelp and thud of paws as he increased his pace.

XOXOX

Kevin kicked Ben out first as normal, and then drove to Gwen's house. He would have liked to invite her to his or to go get a hot dog or something, but they were both exhausted from chasing those damn deer most of the day. Instead, he pecked her on the cheek as she undid her seat belt.

"See ya,"

Gwen nodded tiredly, closing her eyes and groaning. "I've got a head ache…"

"Take some painkillers."

"Mmm," she leant over and gave him an absentminded hug before she got out.

Somehow, Kevin drove home without crashing the car, and fell onto the sofa to watch some TV and unwind. He must have fallen asleep, because it was getting dark when he opened his eyes to see Crystal jumping on his chest.

"Wake up!" she giggled, completely unfazed by his appearance.

"What?" he groaned, falling back again, closing his eyes.

"It's dinner time! Why are you so tired?"

He shoved her to the other end of the sofa before heaving himself to his feet and traipsing all the way to the table. He didn't really care about the ID Mask, lying alone and forgotten on the floor of his car, until Cain came in. He glowered for a moment before concealing himself behind the evening newspaper.

Kevin was too far-gone to start picking fights now, he just wanted to eat and sleep.

"Honey?"

Kevin looked up to see his mother watching him anxiously.

"What?"

"Are you alright? You look worn out." She pushed a bowl of spaghetti bolognaise under his nose. "I saw Michelle was the Wal-Mart." She went on. "Apparently Steph's exhausted as well. What were you kids _doing_ today?"

Kevin briefly outlined the 'mission', shovelling as much into his mouth as he could while he did so. Crystal stared at him in amazement, then started asking a series of questions about these deer of which he spoke.

Steph had ambled around with a camera taking pictures, but she had said she'd write up the mission tomorrow since she was dead on her feet. Kevin wondered vaguely if she'd made it home in one piece.

Then his mother asked after his teammates, which started a whole new round of conversation. He was actually really enjoying himself, since this had to be the first time in possibly _years_ that dinner had gone so smoothly, without any bumps in the road. He teased Crystal about her hockey training, and laughed when his mom told them what had happened while she and Michelle had been talking in the shop. Some old git had tried to muscle his way past them as they chatted about the children, and he had brought down half a shelf worth of cereals onto his head.

Suddenly, reality came crashing back down as Cain slapped his paper down, stood up quickly so the chair scraped against the tiled floor, and slammed his plate down by the sink before storming out of the room.

Silence descended, and Kevin clenched his jaw tightly and stabbed at his own meal with his fork, no longer interested.

"Mom, why is Daddy angry?" Crystal asked, not understanding her father's mood.

Kevin just stood and left the room, leaving his plate behind on the table.

_Stupid idiot_, he thought darkly as he stalked downstairs to his room. The basic problem with family life in this household was that prat up there in the living room. Why did Cain always manage to shred what little comfort and solace Kevin managed to scrape together?

Instead of going to bed like he had planned to, Kevin sat down to play Halo for a bit to vent his anger, and to let his dinner settle. Nightmares were bad enough; no sense in letting them be meal-induced nightmares too.

To his surprise, Lea was online, but Steph wasn't. Normally they fought over who got to go on XBox Live; but there Lea was, sending him a message.

At least the banter between them was free of hassle, including only curses and death threats for the next day when Lea's tank blew up in Kevin's face.

"_You sir,_" he said in a stiff, overly posh accent, "_are a bastard_."

"You know it," Kevin grinned, restarting the level.

XOXOX

"So basically," River said, eyebrow raised, "this massively important mission was to round up a small herd of deer?"

"Black-eared Tiller Deer," Miley corrected.

"Oh, those weird ones with the oddly angled antlers, bright green hide and huge black ears? Make nice cheese," she added, thinking back to a friend of hers who had given her some at a barbeque once. Lovely stuff…

"Mmhmm," Miley was watching Taylor closely, and River sensed that she wanted to be rid of him for a moment.

"Taylor?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he was busy whittling at his killer whale plaque.

"I left my bag upstairs, and it's got my notepad. Could you go get it for me?"

The perfect solution to Miley's problem. When she had arrived at the workshop and found them all over each other, she'd cleared her throat loudly, and Taylor, surprised by the intrusion, had nearly dropped River. She had hit her shoulder quite hard against the table, and her right arm was all but useless at the moment. Lea had announced that he was going to go on XBox Live a while ago, after Steph and Mikey called it a day, so Taylor would walk in, see the game, and sit with Lea for a bit. He would feel guilty about forgetting her, but Miley was agitated about something, and River wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Whatever the problem was, Taylor wasn't allowed to hear it.

"Sure," Taylor grinned at her, and jumped out of the truck bed. "Be right back!" he called over his shoulder.

Miley snorted softly, looking at Mel, who was doing a cross-stitch pattern of roses. "Yeah right…"

"Wassup?" River asked. "You're worked up over something that has nothing to do with green alien deer."

Miley shot Mel a look, who laid her pattern down carefully, and looked River straight in the eye. The intensity of the gaze unnerved River; what was going on?

"That stuff you gave me from Dianne wasn't meant to regulate your cycle." Miley said, as though she had rehearsed this line. "It's meant for headaches."

River tried to digest this information while her stomach started doing back flips. "But…Dianne, she…gave it to me. She _never_ gets this sort of thing wrong!" So if she hadn't been taking her normal medicine, which also acted as a contraceptive…

"Can you remember what happened the day you collected it?" Mel asked soothingly.

River frowned, thinking back to a few months ago. "I was there with Tina. Dianne told me my packet was on the left on the table, so I took it." She shrugged it off, but a nasty suspicion was crawling into the back of her mind, and slowly pushing her other thoughts out of the way as it crept towards the foreground of her mind.

"Was there anything else on the table?" Miley hedged.

River put her face in her hand, trying to rid herself of the stupid little grin that contradicted her inner feelings. "No. And now I have a horrible feeling Tina has my medicine." She was going into denial. Curse Freud and his stupid psychodynamic approach! The use of humour helped people cope with stress, but the knowledge of that didn't make this any less taxing.

Oh God, oh God… River knew where this conversation was going, and she was petrified of what lay at the end.

"Have you and Taylor, you know…" Miley's face went bright red. She wasn't comfortable talking about other people's physical relationships to their face. What was even more embarrassing was the fact that she had never been with someone in that sense. River and Taylor had had five years to fully acquaint themselves with each other; both mentally and physically.

"Mel?" River was surprised by the hysterical note in her own voice. She paused to clear her throat before continuing. "Please say this is going in a different direction than the one I think it is."

"You have had sex, it's a fact of life, and there's no shame in it." Mel said calmly. "But it seemed to have been unprotected."

Miley just about died of embarrassment then and there, and River scowled.

"Melanie. These hints are leading to one thing at the moment, and I for one am now shit scared that I may just be-"

"Hey guys!" Taylor ran over from the front door.

River yelped, and tried to dive out of sight. Not now! Of all the moments in a conversation to ruin, why did he always have to ruin the _critical_ part?

"Lea needs a hand with a mission, so I'm off!" he dumped her bag, kissed the crown of her head, and raced back indoors.

"We need you to take a test to be sure," Miley said, not looking at either of them. "River, you've _got_ to look at the possibilities,"

"I know!" she cradled her face in her hands. So many different phrases and slang terms for the condition flitted through her mind, from her Portsmouth home and Victoria student flat, but she had to force herself to look at the one word she dreaded.

Pregnant.

"But if I am, what do I do?" it took a moment for her to realise she had chewed a nail almost clean off. That shocked her out of her panic; she'd kicked the habit years ago, and hadn't felt the need to start chewing them again. Sobered, she looked to Mel; her best friend, her spirit buddy.

Mel gave her a level look. "Let's get you tested first, then we'll go from there."

Miley set about getting her bike out and revving up to go to the drug store before she left them outside on the drive way, still sitting in the truck bed. She was glad to get away from the sudden tension, but River felt even worse for it.

Or maybe that was sudden nausea that gripped her stomach.

On and off all this week she had been throwing up. That in itself, when you considered how fragile her body was, was nothing that made the alarm bells ring. She had rough patches where she threw up, passed out, had wild mood swings, and many other symptoms, all at random intervals.

Unpredictable periods were just part of life; once she had gone a whole year without one, and then started again for no real reason.

This had to be why, if River was – she didn't want to think the word – she hadn't noticed.

She and Taylor hadn't been really intimate for about…three months now? Considering they had both been busy with different projects…

River's stomach rebelled against her, and she threw up over the edge of the truck. Mel said nothing, holding her hair out of the way while River emptied her stomach.

After a painful ten minutes silence, Mel said, "What is it that bother's you?"

River closed her eyes and tried to picture one of the lower pools at the potholes national park on the island; it was a soothing, comforting image that she tried to cling to, desperate to calm herself down and think straight.

"I'm worried about our situation." She said slowly. "Taylor and I haven't got a house or anything, and we don't have the money to buy one, let alone raise a child." She gulped, and something seized her heart in a vice like grip and twisted painfully, showing her the alternatives. "And I don't want to put it up for adoption, or have an abortion…"

Whether for better or worse, her own parents had left her in the care of others. There were insufficient facts to tell what their motives were, but River never resented the decision; her life had been a good one with the Collins'. But she wouldn't let any child of hers go, unless the situation was dire.

And abortion? Only if their lives were at stake. She sat on the post between ethics, religion and science, but now that the possibility had opened itself to her, she had rejected the thought without even thinking it through properly. Maybe she was being rational, or irrational, however you looked at it; either way, the sudden, strong urge to protect her offspring, even if it was still barely developing, was overwhelming.

So what would she do if she was carrying a child?

Mel carefully lowered River's hand from her mouth, and River started when she saw the crimson tracks streaking her fingers.

That sure as hell wasn't a good thing for her to be doing subconsciously…

"What do I do?" she asked in a small voice, wiping the blood on her jeans.

"Wait for Miley."

"And then?"

"Do the test?"

"Then?" the hysterical note was working itself into her voice again, winding its way through her agitated body and strangling her larynx.

Before Mel could say anything, River felt the world slide away from her, fading and blurring into grey. She shut her eyes to block out the sickening view, not wanting to upset her empty stomach again.

Nothing presented itself to her in her dreamlike state; no light at the end of the tunnel, no guardian angel to tell her what she should do: no nothing.

Then she was hurled back to earth with a jolt, and sat up so fast that Miley, who had been bending over her in concern, screamed and fell out of the truck bed.

"What happened?" River demanded, clutching her pounding head.

"You went sideways." Miley grimaced, picking herself up and dusting herself off. "And you scared the life out of me. Don't you _dare_," she pointed a menacing finger, "do that to me again. _Ever_."

"Mel?" she turned to her last lifeline desperately.

Mel gave her a questioning look.

"I didn't…I didn't see anything." She gulped. "I don't know what to do,"

"Here," Miley gave her a plainly marked pink and white box. "This will rule out possibilities. Then we can plan from there." Over the embarrassment of talking about her friend's sex life, Miley was rapidly becoming the cool and efficient medical professional that she was.

Miley's conviction gave River more confidence, and she jumped down from the truck bed and strode with buoyancy into the house, with Mel not far behind.

She had no idea what to do if the test was positive, but she knew she couldn't get her underwear twisted into a knot over it, or let her emotions get the better of her like they did when she worked with those kids on the studies. River had to be like a general in the British Army, or a Magister of the Plumbers; view the situation dispassionately and work out a logical solution.

The brave face she wore cracked and broke down at the seams as Taylor came down the stairs, whistling as he did. He grinned, swept her up into a hug and kissed her cheek.

"What's up?" he asked cheerfully.

River bit her lip.

"What's wrong?" his smiled faltered.

"Ill," she said, pushing him away and diving for the stairs, feeling her stomach clench painfully. She dry wretched all the way to the bathroom, and nearly passed out when she reached the sink. Bile burned its way up her throat and into her mouth, making her gag.

Next thing she knew she was lying face up on the bathroom floor, looking into dark, earthy black eyes with a severe line parting them in the middle. "You look terrible," Taylor said, helping her sit up.

"I feel it," River rasped, her throat itchy and dry.

"You need to sleep," Taylor helped her to sit up. "I'll drive you back to the farm."

"Kay…"

He wordlessly handed her the box, and terror gripped her for a moment. But he hadn't even glanced at it, and suddenly Miley was there, handing River her rucksack. The box went straight in, and Taylor picked her up, slinging the bag onto his back.

"Coming through!" he barged his way to the stairs. "What's in the box, anyways," he added. "Haven't seen it before."

"Tampons." River said quickly.

"Fair dos. But you always get the orange one,"

Damn him for being so wonderful and observant! Just this once she wanted him to not notice, but Taylor just wouldn't cooperate with the mental command.

"Text me the result!" Miley said, charging down the stairs, then stopped when she realised Taylor was still carrying River.

"What result?" Taylor asked pleasantly. He gave River a shrewd look and said, "Are you not telling me something?"

River's heart was beating so frantically the pulse in her neck throbbed excruciatingly, obstructing her speech.

"You taking another course?" he teased, continuing down the stairs.

"No!" she protested.

He stared at her. "You need some rest, you're acting paranoid."

"Miley meant the results of the tampons." River said the first thing that came to mind.

Miley gaped at her over Taylor's shoulder, mouthing 'WHAT!' at her. Miley's expression became neutral as Taylor turned a raised eyebrow at her. River took the opportunity to signal with her hand and lips, 'play along, trust me'.

"Yeah. Miley discovered this American brand of tampons that are way better than Canadian and European ones. She wants to know if I like them or not."

Miley nodded eagerly, hoping to scare him off with the girly issues. It worked; he suppressed a shudder, and headed for the front door, muttering under his breath about how lucky he was to have a 'Y' chromosome.

XOXOX

Miley paced up and down the living room, staring at her phone every so often. Mel was watching a wildlife programme on the TV, and Lea was dozing in the corner. River had taken another nosedive and Taylor had driven her home, and now Miley was acting like the end of the world was nigh. Something was most certainly up, and Lea was biding his time before he got to the bottom of it.

Darkness descended outside, it was getting late, but they couldn't sleep like Steph and Mikey. Lea had a weird feeling that kept preying on his mind, making it impossible to sleep properly. And Miley was being her paranoid self, so something was up, although he had no idea what that might be. All the more reason to stay awake and suss it out.

Even with the fall darkness outside, neither of them could find it in them to go to sleep.

Finally, Miley announced loudly to Mel that she was going to the toilet, and that she should pick up the call or message from River if it came. Not two minutes had passed when her claxon went off; Lea got there before Mel, and flipped the screen up, pressing the read button.

It was from River, and it said one word:

_positive_

"Mel?" he turned to speak, but someone yelled and punched him in the gut.

"Get off my phone! That's private!"

"What's going on with River?" he grabbed her wrist but she twisted in his grasp.

"None of your business!" Miley snapped, pulling the phone from his hands.

"What's positive?" Lea asked, nonplussed.

Miley's expression tightened, and she looked towards Mel. "I need to see her first thing in the morning."

She was about to leave, but Lea pinned her to the doorframe and snarled right in her face, "Tell me what the fecking hell is going on!"

Miley bit her lip before she dropped the bombshell.

"River's pregnant."

XOXOX

**Massively late update, but I got there in the end! Yeah, this would have been up a couple of hours ago but I had to recharge my laptop (after I chucked the battery against the wall when it died on me) and then I had to think of a title. And hell that's harder than it looks! :S and as you are all aware, some of my chapter titles in the past have been epic fail incarnate. :/**

**Meh. But I proof read this with a fine toothed comb because the ferry crossing was BORING! ;)**

**So yeah! Also, I don't recall getting any reviews for the last chapter. Whether screwed up (which it has been for me recently, but that might be this computer) or my email screwed up (which is likely), I don't know, but you're input is always and forever will be greatly appreciated! :)**

**xxx**


	18. Problematic

**AN: wow, been literally months since I updated, I feel ashamed….**

**I haven't had a lot of feedback, and I'm guessing I screwed the plot up quite a bit. It was an idea I had going for a while to be developed later on, and it just seemed like a good idea at the time to introduce it. And while I've managed to get involved with too many things at school and got snowed under with work again, I had enough time to sit and think more about the plot, but I only just got round to writing it. Rest assured, Gwevin will be moved front the backseat to the forefront, but I just need to untangle the mess from the last chapter first.**

**Hopefully it'll only be a week or so before the next chapter is published, and I'm hoping to do a spin on 'If All Else Fails' if the right inspiration hits me in the face xD**

**I doubt this chapter's any good but, I promise the next one will be way better**

**Either way, it's good to be back and hope everyone's doing okay! :)**

_**Problematic**_

Kevin was brooding throughout most of the morning. He mostly brooded over his music sheets, which were in dire need of help. Steph was lounging on a bench, watching Mikey and Ben skateboarding while she filled in a sodoku puzzle.

Gwen was on a shopping trip with her mother, and so was absent from the proceedings. A bummer to be sure, but Kevin found it easier to work on the music when she wasn't around and in danger of discovering it.

No one else had turned up yet, which was surprising. Lea and Miley were normally up to something, while Mel tended to take a backseat in their doings, normally with her younger siblings. River, on the other hand, was almost always floating around, making cryptic remarks about life the universe and everything, or turning a frown upside down.

But of course, her boyfriend was here now, so they wouldn't be hanging out with the kids anymore.

Kevin wanted to stab something , but he knew if he took his ire out of Steph, she would slaughter him, and it wasn't worth the trouble.

He was just about to give up on his sheets, when something slammed down next to him, making him jump.

"Sorry," River mumbled, perching on the opposite bench on the other side of the picnic table.

"Hey," Kevin's whole outlook brightened. He was really starting to like having conversations with River; she always had some intriguing facts or insights on life, and he liked bouncing the ball around the court with her.

Kevin's smile faltered somewhat when he saw the clothes she was wearing; very old, faded jeans, a deep blue t-shirt, and a thin grey hoody. The only things that remained the same were her jewellery, apart from the little studded rainbows in her ear lobes. For the first time, Kevin noticed the piercing at the top of her ear, that was now sporting a silver ring.

"Are you okay?" he asked, startled by the lack of enthusiasm, and the distant look in her eyes.

Instead of their ever changing blue-grey colour, they were the colour of slate; a flat, dull colour that scared Kevin. What had happened to the happy and content River he had come to know so well?

And why was Steph just sitting there ignoring them like there was nothing wrong?

"Mmm," River shook her head, and placed her palm over her forehead. "Feeling kinda rough. Been sick a lot. Didn't sleep last night." She grimaced. "Massive headache like you wouldn't believe…"

Kevin got the distinct impression that she wasn't telling the whole truth, but it wasn't his place to force it out of her. That was Lea's job.

He sighed, knowing it wasn't the best time to bring up his musical endeavours, but before he could ferret them away, River caught sight of them, and started asking questions.

Kevin admitted to his burning desire to write a piece of music, and River latched onto the thought like a leech on a new host.

"Let me have a look," she worked her way through it before handing it back with an appreciative nod. "Looks good," she gave him a smile that just about lit the corners of her eyes. "Chords and keys need a bit of work, but that's down to practise. When you finish the first draft throw it my way and I'll proof read it."

Kevin grinned, but it didn't stay in place for long. He had made a real effort to be cheerful today, what with Gwen's absence, and Cain being a dick all day. River's cheerless aura was sapping what little happiness he had managed to gather this morning.

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly, wiping the corner of her eye on her sleeve. "I just needed to go for a walk, and I saw you guys over here. Thought I might come and say hi."

"Something's wrong." Kevin stated. _Duh_, he mentally added.

River took a deep breath, and managed a wan smile. "I'm soul searching. I've hit a block in the pathway, and I need to either skirt around it or push through. I'll be fine once I make the decision. It's the not knowing part I can't handle."

Kevin considered her words carefully. "Pathway?"

"Sorry," she clutched at her forehead again, frowning as though in pain. "It's a…native American phrase. Path as in the winding road that your life leads and crap. I spend too much time on the Rez."

"You're avoiding the question." Kevin pointed out.

"I…" River looked at the trees on the other side of the parking lot. "I have a decision to make. But I need to weigh up the pros and cons first before I chose what to do," she sighed, sagging in her seat. She suddenly looked ten years older.

"Can't be that bad," Kevin tried to cheer her up.

"When you reach my age," she said, rubbing her temples, "you learn that no matter what you do, there's always a drawback to your actions, even if it's the lesser of two evils. I just need to work up the nerve to face this-" she stopped, as though she had said too much. "I'm rambling," she dismissed. "Just ignore me."

Kevin sensed that this was not open for discussion. As she tactfully let him open up in his own time, he left her alone.

"S'not like it's a matter of life and death," he said suddenly, without thinking.

River didn't say anything for a moment. Then, she grabbed her bag and shouldered it, not meeting his gaze as she said. "I'd better get going. I said I'd meet Miley, she's probably wondering where I am."

"Oh." Kevin felt like he'd said the wrong thing, but had no idea how to mend the damage. "Okay. See you later."

Then River smiled, and her face lit up briefly, free from all lines of worry. She ruffled his hair as she walked past. "Keep working on that song. It'll be awesome once it's finished."

Kevin watched her go, before looking back down at the sheet music. Then it hit him.

He'd only shown her the stave and the chords, not the inspiration, or the words…

How'd the hell she know it was a song?

XOXOX

Gwen waved as she watched her mother drive away, leaving her at Mr Smoothies. She had already texted around, and since Kevin had remained unresponsive she had secured a lift with Mikey in about…ten minutes according to her watch.

With a strawberry smoothy and her English essay in hand, Gwen settled down to work. No sooner had she written the title, she heard a commotion from the other side of the parking lot. Some swish sports car in a loud yellow with bold black stripes pulled up, and a group of youths got out. They were the stereo typical image of a group of jocks; all following the most good looking guy who had obviously never held a football in his life, much less kicked one around the yard.

He was the epitome of 'pretty boy', even from this distance, and Gwen was already turning her attention back to her essay. Guys like him belonged in an art gallery; they were meant for looking at and admiring and, in the grand scheme of things, served no real purpose in life. Gwen's schoolwork was slightly more important at that moment.

Gwen could hear the babble of voices make its way to the counter, and then fazed out of earshot as she continued writing the opening paragraph. The Roaring Twenties and the dubious back story of Jay Gatsby, and his vain attempt to win back his one true love, along with the historical context, where all far more fascinating to her than some gang of teenaged boys.

Or so she thought, unlike the gang, who decided that they would try their luck.

…_While we such behaviour to be outlandish and-_

"Hey," said a smooth voice as a hand came down beside Gwen's elbow. "You come here often?"

She looked up, frowning. The guy had neatly combed blonde hair, fair skin, and eyes the colour of a midsummer afternoon sky. He leant against the table in a casual manner, looking down at her with a warm, gentle kind of regard.

Much as it would serve Kevin right, the way he had been acting recently, a clear image of Michael Morningstar's face imposed itself in her mind's eye, and Gwen felt herself bridle at the close contact.

Unfazed, the guy said politely, "I'm Adrian. What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Gwen." She said shortly.

He opened his mouth again to speak, but his words were drowned out by the sound of a motor. Gwen looked up as the bright orange bike rolled up beside the table.

Mikey pulled his helmet off as he dismounted, and grinned at her. "Hey! Sorry I'm late,"

The other guy stood up straight, clearly taken aback by the sudden turn of events. From the corner of her eye, Gwen watched his expression as she packed away. From being open and friendly, it suddenly became a major pout, like a little kid who'd had his favourite toy taken away from him, and he was getting about it.

Once her bag was packed, Mikey thrust a white helmet into Gwen's hands.

"_You_," he said with a grin, dumping a heavy jacket over her head. "Get to wear the goofy helmet."

On closer inspection, there was a little figure of the Disney character on the back of the helmet, and someone had written the words 'GOOF BALL' over the top of it.

"Great," Gwen said vaguely, struggling to get the jacket on. "Is all this junk really necessary?" she looked up, and saw that pretty boy had slunk back to his posse, and looked like a brooding dark character from some lame romantic plot line.

"It is," Mikey said, grabbing the collar and tugging it into place. "If you want to survive an accident." Once correctly placed, Mikey landed a punch against her stomach. "See?" he pulled her up again as she struggled to get her breath back. "Reinforced with steel plates. I'd be dead without these things,"

Remembering Steph's vivid description of River's own accident – in a car without protection – made Gwen think about falling off a motorbike at high speeds without any sort of defence against the hard asphalt.

"Ouch," she said, looking at the bike dubiously.

"You'll live!" Mikey said with a grin. "I'm a sensible driver. Problem is the other idiots on the road; I've only ever had accidents in Portsmouth, and the driver's there are _terrible_!" he replaced his own helmet and signalled to her to get on the bike.

"You're not making me feel any better about this," Gwen muttered. She raised the helmet above her head and tried to get it on. It managed to get over the crown of her head, but she couldn't get it to go any further.

"Come here," Mikey said patiently, as though most people had trouble with biker helmets. Gwen stood beside him, and he raised his closed, interlocked fists above her head, and brought them down sharply against the top. It slid over her eyes and came to rest awkwardly on her shoulders, leaving her reeling more from the shock. "Get on," he leant forward over the handlebars and revved the engine.

"It's bulky," Gwen complained in a muffled voice, feeling heavy and lumpy in her borrowed gear. She swung her bag over her shoulder so it hung across her back and neck, and settled in behind Mikey.

"Hang on to me or the bar behind you." he said, revving again. "And don't let go, for obvious reasons."

She had little time to fathom what he had said before the bike rumbled to life beneath her, and slowly rolled forward.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking," Mikey said in an overly friendly and posh accent. "The emergency exits are located before, behind, to you left and right, and every angle in between. Please keep your arms and legs in at all times, and in the quite likely event of an emergency please throw your hands up in the air and pray to your dear and fluffy lord for whatever afterlife you so desire. This is Do or Die Mikey Simcox, enjoy your flight on Air Pompey and thank you for listening."

They paused at the exit so Mikey could check the traffic.

"Where do I cling to?" Gwen asked in a small voice. Having Kevin cart her all over the place in his Camaro was bad enough; what would her father say when she pitched up outside her house on a goddamn motorbike?

"There's a bar behind you," Mikey said, waiting for a lorry to roll past as it slowed for a red light. "Or me. Lean into the corners, it'll feel better and you won't unbalance yourself."

Given no more warning than that, the bike lurched forward, and zipped around the rear side of the truck, and straight to the head of the queue for the lights. Gwen squeaked in alarm and grabbed Mikey round his waist with a death grip.

She'd been in cars that had been travelling way faster than this, but the air whistled around her helmet and flowed around her body, the engine roared somewhere beneath her and the traffic blared noisily around her. The whole thing, including Mikey, twisted and turned with the lie of the road, and she felt certain that they were going to cut a corner to tightly and they'd both go flying over the handlebars and crash into a concrete building and die in a horrible twisted mess of leather and metal and concrete…

Eyes firmly closed, Gwen waited for the journey to end, moulding herself to Mikey's spine and trying to ignore the hard ground under the tyres. She almost didn't notice that they were outside her house until Mikey killed the engine.

"Kay…Gwen? Please let go. I can't breathe…"

Gwen disentangled herself from him, and he dramatically gulped at the air like a drowning man.

"Sorry…"

"Bloody hell, Gwen. I mean, I'm know I'm an irritating jerk a lot of the time, but I didn't think you wanted to _kill_ me!" but he had his helmet resting against his hip, tugging the spare jacket from Gwen's shoulders, with a grin on his face.

"I don't think I like motorbikes…" she mumbled, looking up at her front door. The curtains in the front room quivered, and she groaned out loud. "I think my dad saw my entrance…"

"Well, we're both in one piece," Mikey shrugged, stowing the jacket and helmet. "You're not mangled by the wayside somewhere for the carrion to eat, and my lungs are still intact. We're good," he gave her the thumbs up.

"I'm going to go lie down now," Gwen walked up the path on wobbly legs.

"See you later!" he called after her.

The engine was gunned, and Mikey was a bright orange comet, streaking down the road.

Inside, her father was sitting on the sofa, sipping a cup of tea thoughtfully.

"Hey dad," Gwen said, diving for the kitchen.

"Who was that young man with the motorbike?" he asked, slowly folding his paper and placing his mug down before following her.

"My friend Mikey." Gwen said, hoping to escape before she got told off for recklessly travelling on the road.

Her father regarded her closely while she poured herself a cup of orange juice. Finally, he nodded to himself and wondered back into the living room. "Nice lad," he said absentmindedly.

Gwen stared after him in disbelief.

He said _what_ now?

XOXOX

"This bit goes there," Lea said, holding a wire out to Steph.

"Roger," she saluted and rolled onto her stomach, shimmying underneath the rig and attaching the wires together while Kevin held the casement up so she could reach.

They were attempting to find and resolve a little wiring problem they had encountered earlier. Steph wanted to throw the whole lot into the dumpster out the back, but Kevin had threatened her at knife point to fix it, so here she was on the cold, hard, icky floor, hooking and unhooking wires.

Stupid git faced…git.

River was seated at the table, typing at her laptop on some weird psycho report things for some random people. When Lea permitted them to take five, she bounced over to pester her, and said, "Whuss'at?"

"Basically," River frowned over her keyboard. "I've lost my 'K'. How the hell can I lose a letter?" Steph laughed at her, and backed up when River swatted her with the papers. "Bloody ridiculous. It's been such a weird day."

"Maybe that says something about you as a person," Lea said smugly, slurping some coffee from the Starbucks down the road.

"Or the company I keep." River said, stabbing her keyboard. "Stupid thing…"

"You've all but thrown it against the wall." Lea poked her. "You treat your gear right, it'll treat you right."

"But technology hates me in general," River argued back. "Like my MP3 Player. Can't remember where the bloody thing went. I spent most of this morning trying to find it…"

"What you listening to?" Steph asked, grabbing an earpiece from River's right ear and sticking it in her own.

"_I'll run like the rive, I'll follow the sun, I'll fly like an eagle, to where I belong!"_

"What is this, native crap?" she asked conversationally.

"It's Bryan Adams," River said vaguely. "That movie with the horses and stuff."

"Oh, that one with the yellow and black horse?" Steph asked. It rang a small bell somewhere at the back of her mind.

"You'll run like the river!" She sang. "You'll shine like the sun!" she tapped he drum beat against the mouse pad. "Yeah!" she started putting on her soul voice to annoy Lea, who stalked off in the other direction.

"You'll fly like an eagle, yeah you are the one,"

Kevin crept over to see what they were doing.

"I've seen every sunset, and with all that I've learnt. It's to you, I will always, always return!"

"You lost me." Steph said, fiddling with River's pencil case.

"What is that?" Kevin asked, sitting down on the table next to the laptop.

"It's from a film, something like – oh!" River massaged her temples. "Spirit…Stallion…Stallion of the Cimarron! That's it," she was pleased with herself for remembering.

"Never heard of it," Kevin shrugged.

"You might be a bit old to get into it now." River laughed. "I'm just quite immature so I'll love any old sentimental crap involving animals."

"Bambi!" Steph crowed loudly.

"I laughed when the mommy deer got shot." Kevin said with a smirk.

"Cause you're sadistic." River said, attacking the keyboard again. "You're actually a lot like my little brother."

Steph pulled a face. Daniel, River's youngest brother, was a prick. She got on so well with the five others, but with that pathetic excuse of a sentient being was the bain of her life. Steph didn't like the git much either. But now that she thought about it, Daniel and Kevin _did _have a bit in common.

"How so?" Kevin asked, on the defensive.

"I remember very clearly," River said, staring at the ceiling, recalling the memory. "Daniel was five, and I was…oh, must have been thirteen? Anyway, I was babysitting some kids at our house and I put Bambi on for them. He'd never watched it before, but he actually pointed at the screen and laughed when the mother died,"

Steph laughed, and laughed harder at Kevin's expression.

"Um…" he looked at River's open and honest face.

"I was more than slightly worried. But mostly I was pissed off cause the little four year old girl was bawling her eyes out like 'waaahhh! Bambi's mommy died!' and I had to settle her down in another room with Whinnie the Pooh." She rolled her eyes. "Bloody nightmare. Daniel and I actually hate each other's guts."

"Christmas with the Collins'." Steph told Kevin with a superior nod. "Feckin' hilarious."

"I thought you were the all knowing psychologist who was loved by all and hated by no one," Kevin teased.

"Oh," River laughed. "Plenty of people out there don't like me, trust me on that. No," she took a swig from her flask. "It's so stupid. All the little things, and all the massive ones. Things like 'oh I wish you'd died in that car crash so I wouldn't have to put up with your shit' and 'oh well I wish I had died so I don't have to listen to your bloody voice for the rest of my life' Blargh."

Steph had to hold her sides to stop them from aching. "It's so funny…"

"It's a nuisance," River pulled a face. "Anyway, I have work to do."

"What's the verdict?" Steph persisted when she could breathe properly again.

"Right," River reeled through the list. "Psycho, psycho, stuck up arrogant git faced pillock," she checked her stack of papers. "Let's see…socio-economic background, culturally displaced and left to fester, culturally displaced and left to fester _and_ a psychopath, sociopath left to fester, psycho, psycho…"

"Bloody hell," Steph took a piece of paper and read the top five lines.

"Waste of space," River went on. "Need's to be shot hung drawn and quartered and shot again…needs help…and I think that's it. This stuff is practise for writing out your mental health assessment form things when they come around."

"You have to assess our mental health?" Kevin asked dubiously.

"Kinda. It's more of a 'how would you gage this person on a scale of stability' as in 'how likely are they to go and shoot the place up?'"

"Well, we're screwed." Steph said brightly to Kevin.

"No, you're both incredibly bright and intelligent individuals." River said proudly, before grabbing Steph and rubbing her knuckles against her scalp. "But you are to confrontational and argumentative. And as for _you_!" she rounded on Kevin, giving him the same treatment. "You're lazy. You've got a great brain but you don't apply it in lessons!"

"Cause my teacher's crap!" Kevin whined. "You make learning interesting! And _fun_!"

"Well, I doubt you want me to tutor you." River laughed. "You'll get fed up with me pretty quickly."

"Hey!" Taylor entered the workshop. "You've been avoiding me all day!" he pointed at River.

Steph was surprised when River stood up, leaving her work as it was, half finished.

"I need to talk to you," she said in a quiet but firm voice."

"Okay," Taylor looked baffled, and even more confused when she grabbed his hand and dragged him outside to his jeep.

"What was that about?" Kevin asked when the car had pulled away.

"No idea," Steph shrugged. "Lea's been ages," she checked her watch. "Might as well finish this up,"

It took another hour, with many curses and bruises, but the wiring was finally complete. Lea had come back and the three of them attempted to bring the rig to life. Naturally, they failed, and spent ages trying to figure out where the problem was coming from.

Ben came in, bearing a tray of smoothies, followed by Julie and Gwen, early that evening, preceding Mikey by ten minutes. He had a selection of chocolate biscuits, and since River had left her laptop open to attack, Steph took the liberty of playing music from it. The speakers were rubbish, but they didn't have the Sonic music on the ipod.

She and Mikey jumped up onto the table and chairs and started singing 'Escape from the City' at the tops of their lungs. Ben joined them, and Kevin and Lea hung back to think up names and abuse to hurl at them. Gwen and Julie, being girls, huddled over in the corner and gossiped about stuff in general.

It was getting on in the evening when River and Taylor came back, both looking very peaceful. Steph paused in her rendition of the Can-Can to watch them walk across the room and settle in with Lea and Kevin. Mikey broke ranks to go pester River, and Steph and Ben capered around the table singing 'We're following the _Lea-_der' in Lea's general direction.

XOXOX

"Where do they get the energy?" Taylor asked, looking worn out. "I'm getting tired just watching them, let alone listening…"

"This _is_ Steph we're talking about." River said with a sigh.

"River!" Mikey trilled. He turned her name into a chant, and Gwen covered her ears to block it out.

"I really want to punch him, on one level." She admitted to Julie.

After the hair-raising motorbike ride, Gwen had vowed to never ask Mikey for a lift again. And he wasn't endearing himself with all the noise he was making, either.

Sitting beside River was soothing; contrary to what other people had said about her today, River was peaceful and calm, if looking tired.

"You all right, Riv?" Mikey said suddenly, stopping his chant. The room suddenly sounded a lot quieter, even with Steph and Ben still in full swing.

"Yes," she said softly. "All the better for you shutting the hell up."

Mikey grinned unrepentantly. "You were really depressing earlier. Everything okay now?"

"River's had an emotionally draining day," Taylor said swiftly, and Gwen detected a menacing undertone in his voice. "And I think actually we should go before her blood pressure gets pushed sky high cause of you guys,"

"Sa'right." River put a hand on his. "Just a head ache, babes. I'm fine, really."

It was the loving look that passed between the two of them that caught everyone's attention more than Taylor's ill concealed threat. Mikey looked between them both, and opened his mouth again as Taylor shoved a biscuit in his mouth.

"What is it? You're keeping a secret…"

"My life is none of your concern." River said simply.

"And mine is yours?" he retorted.

"Mike. Shut up," Taylor snapped.

"C'mon, what's the worst it could be? It's not like she's pregnant or anything."

At this Taylor choked on his drink and coughed and spluttered loudly. Lea rescued him from dieing, but the look on his face once he recovered showed he had mixed feelings about surviving.

It was suddenly very quiet, but Steph's shriek broke the silence.

"You _what?_ You're pregnant? WHAT?"

Gwen, wide eyed, looked from Julie, to Lea, and then to the couple. Taylor looked as though he wished the ground would swallow him. River, on the other hand, put her cup down slowly, raised her hands, and clapped three times, slowly and deliberately, drawing the sarcasm out as far as it would stretch. "Thank you, Stephenie, for that announcement."

Gwen wanted to laugh at Steph's expense, but the fierce look in River's eyes was enough to quell any mirth. Apart from Lea, who burst into fits of laughter.

"No, no, no," Mikey managed to regain his composure first. "Hold your applause for the parents to be,"

"You actually?" Steph said weakly, gaping like a fish.

"You have no idea how much you look like a guppy." River told her, the corners of her mouth twitching now. Steph's responding grin was dim compared to River's smile.

Gwen had to roll out of the way when River disappeared under a pile of people hugging her. When Taylor threw Steph across the room and out of the way, Gwen gave River a side hug and said, "Congrats in order?"

"I suppose," River shrugged, still smiling.

Kevin poked her in the back from where he was sitting from behind her on a chair. River leant back and looked up, not bothering to twist around to see him. "Yes?"

"That's what was bugging you today?"

"Yup. Told you, I can't stand the not knowing what to do part. But we had a very long and adult discussion about it this afternoon."

"So," Lea said to Taylor. "You got a plan?"

"Work like stink, buy a house, move in." he shrugged. "That's all really,"

"Win the lottery," River added.

Mikey was suddenly bouncing off the walls. "I'm gonna be an uncle! Again! _YEY!_"

"I was hoping to let the cat out of the bag a _bit _more subtly," River admitted.

"No chance!" Steph trilled loudly.

"Okay, okay. We're all happy, now please be quiet, my head hurts…"

Steph made a beeline for her phone.

"And if you tweet or facebook about this before our parents know I'll feast on your soul." River said in a sweetly threatening tone, eyes blazing. Steph put her phone down and slunk away, shoulders hunched over in disappointment. "Well," River checked her watch. "I guess I'd better get that paperwork done."

After the excitement died down somewhat, Mikey pounced on Gwen when she was least expecting it. "Hey! I forgot to mention earlier, who was that footy guy?"

Gwen blinked at him uncomprehendingly.

"That weirdo guy at Mr Smoothie's with the freakishly neat hair."

"Oh," she shrugged. "I don't know. You crashed onto the scene before I find out."

"What guy?" Kevin demanded, eyeing Mikey suspiciously.

"Some blondo pretty boy who looks like _the_ football player of the year material. They have air for brains and spaghetti for muscles." Mikey's contempt was evident. "I hated our football team at college. Stuck up arrogant bastards…"

"Havant's not that bad," Steph drawled.

"School wasn't any better," River pitched in, managing to type at a hundred miles an hour and still maintain conversation. "But it has to be said, the Rugby guys were way nicer."

"My point exactly!" Mikey ranted. "Anyways, always a pleasure, Gwendolyn," he gave a deep mock bow with much twirling of the hand. "You find anymore douche bags following you, be sure to give me a shout, won't you?"

"And what was Blondie doing?" Kevin rounded on Gwen.

She glowered at him, but before she could retaliate, Mikey said, "Standing around, being a douche."

"You know that means shower in French, right?" Taylor said at random.

"It's also a bag you fill with water and use to clean certain orifices of the female anatomy." River told them.

The brief silence was shattered by the chorus of "Ewwwww!"

"You biologists." Taylor said scathingly, testing a fine edged blade against a block of wood. "You sicken me."

"I could give the low down on the mating rituals of the Lesser Spotted Ty-"

"Maybe some other time, baby. I want to keep my lunch down."

"Your loss. Now shut up, I have bread to win and other stuff…"

"So yeah!" Mikey turned the subject around. "Gwen needed a lift, when I got there, some douche was pulling the classic 'nice guy moves' I've seen a hundred times, and nine times out of ten, yeah…needs to rethink his life,"

"Why didn't you call me?" Kevin didn't demand a response; he sounded like a wounded soldier who had been shot at by his commander on the battlefield.

"I did," Gwen told him. "You didn't answer, I left you loads of messages…"

Kevin disappeared to find his phone, and cursed when he found the battery dead. Oblivious to this little sidetrack, Mikey went on nodding seriously as he said, "It takes all sorts. Luckily, I have a gift of sorting the good from the bad,"

Steph threw something at him, and he made an elaborate dive to avoid it.

"Sure you do," Gwen said with a smirk.

"Well, Lea's all right, provided you don't rub him up the wrong way, then he's a real pain in the arse. Taylor's…meh," Mikey punched his arm and ducked over to River's side. "You could do better," he said teasingly.

"Don't have to tell me twice-" she squeaked in alarm when Taylor pounced on her and started ruffling her hair. "Hey! Not the hair! Go _away_, I'm working!"

"Ben's…" Mikey went on with his Meta analysis. "Well, Ben is a bit of a…oh, what's the word?"

Kevin and Steph started supplying one or two suggestions, making the other's laugh. Julie couldn't stand up straight for mirth.

"All right, play's time over," River shoved Taylor away. "We've all got something that needs doing, so sod off and go do it! Steph, Kevin, _shut up_!"

"And Kevin's the classic shady guy," Mikey struck a pose, shading his eyes from the light, and giving an uncanny resemblance to his muse. Gwen couldn't stop herself from laughing. "He has something to hide, even if it is purely and simply that he shaves his pubes each night and puts them into an earthen jar which is then used in a ritual to appease the dark god Carnarvon."

Gwen barely saw Kevin's expression through her tears by that point.

"Um…Mikey?" Miley said slowly, as though she were talking to a child. "Why Carnarvon?"

"It just came to me. What can I say? I'm a born story teller!"

"Carnarvon is the year eleven and sixth form boarding house at school," she said.

"It's also the name of that Lord who went and got killed by the curse of thingy." Lea supplied.

"Tutunkamoon," River said flatly. "I and told you guys to shut up."

"Really? Oh well," Mikey picked at imaginary dirt on his shirt. "So yeah, not that I expect it to be a dark god or anything, Kevin."

Kevin opened his mouth to say something, but stormed off instead to fix the engine on the floor with Steph. She sniggered, stifled it, and then burst out laughing all over again. Kevin threw something at her, but she ducked too late and it caught her across the temple. Naturally, she shreiked, and went into shock.

"Steph! Shit, how much _blood_ is in your head, anyway?" Mikey fussed over her.

"Really?" River was hanging her head in her hands. "Kevin, tell me you know better than this. Please? Just so I know I haven't gone totally insane yet,"

But Kevin was trying to appease Steph before to gutted him, not listening to River's plea. Miley handled the medical kit, glowering at Mikey and Kevin as she did so. The verdict was a day at least with the dressing, and a dazed looking Steph sat in the chair, staring into space.

"Err…Steph?" Kevin said meekly, the most demeaning sound Gwen had heard from him all week.

"Yeah?" she said vaguely.

"Are you gonna kill me?"

"You know how when you stare at something long enough, those weird things show up in your eyes? The ones that move where ever you look. I can see a lot of those,"

"Miley," River said unevenly. "You sure that didn't hit a chi point? Steph's not faking this and I'm mildly freaked out now,"

"How could you kill Steph?" Mikey demanded of Kevin. "That's outrageous! It's _my_ job! I'm out of business now and it's all your fault,"

"Oh shut up!" Lea spat at him.

"Fine," he sniffed. "I know when I'm not wanted."

"Then go sod off then," Miley snarled, lips twitching in a surprisingly wolfish way. River was tenderly feeling along Steph's skull, her eyes unfocused, glowing a most interesting shade of blue. "Anything?"

"I think that knocked one or two glands out, they'll come back of course," River felt along Steph's neck. "Bloody hell Kevin, you've got excellent aim for hormone pathways. This'll probably be the only time she'll ever feel high since earth drugs burn up so quickly in her body,"

"What did I do?"

"Disrupt a chi channel," Miley sniffed.

"Hey Gwen, come here. I want to try something," River waved her over.

Gwen stood expectantly by her, and River placed her hands over Steph's head. "We've been having an argument. I want you to find a channel, and describe it to me,"

"Okay," Gwen frowned. She hadn't done this before, but she knew roughly what was needed. She closed her eyes and sought Steph's manna; it was as hot and fiery as her temperament, yet below a slow hot bed of magma flowed steadily on. She could feel the myriad of tiny channels throughout her body, but focused on the brain, feeling for the vague image River sent her, remembering her magic was too weak to do much else.

"Here," Gwen traced a finger round the back of Steph's head, and back to her temple. "It's been diverted due to the shock."

"I knew it!" River shooed Gwen away good-naturedly. "Thanks Gwen. See, Miles?" they glowered at each other briefly before River laughed. "Chi _is_ manna. It's energy, nothing else."

"I still think it's two separate things." Miley said with dignity, and went back to her book.

"Energy is energy is energy," River said to her back. "Why couldn't the Chinese tap into that centuries ago? Maybe their healers _were_ Anodytes. And that's where Earth medicine comes from,"

"Intriguing idea," Gwen could suddenly see the possibilities light up before her.

"We can argue about it later," River grinned, that spark of mischief dancing in her eyes. "I think we need to wrap things up and go home now,"

"Steph can't drive," Miley put in.

"I'll take her home," Kevin sighed heavily.

"I'd offer to do it myself but El Commando took my keys off me," River said sweetly, slamming her messenger bag down in front of Taylor's face. "Didn't you, _dearest_?"

"When I know you're not going to pass out at the wheel you can have them back," he said simply.

"Which is never in your book," they started bickering as everyone shut up shop for the night.

Gwen laughed and said to Mikey. "You'd think they'd been married forty years already,"

"Don't get them started, _please_," Mikey pulled a face. "It's highly annoying. Especially now that juniors on the way." He gasped, grabbed Gwen by the shoulders and all but shouted at her, "We have to think of names!"

"Err, Mikey?" Ben interjected. "Isn't it their right as the biological and emotional parents of the child to give them a name when he or she is born? We can't make the decision for them."

"Ben," Gwen put a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "That's the most mature thing I've heard you say all month! What's gotten into to you?"

Ben took a very deliberate slurp of his smoothie before turning to her and saying, "You think we'd let Steph, Mikey and Kevin come up with baby names?"

"Oh. Touché," now that she thought about it…_very_ bad idea.

"Oh my god!" Miley shrieked.

"Oh what now?" River said despairingly, rolling up the laptop charger.

"It'll be a December baby like you! Birthday, and then Christmas just around the corner!" she looked over the moon.

"It's not even the summer holidays yet!" River looked like she wanted to slap Miley. "Not Guy Fawkes, not Halloween, _summer_! You don't think about Christmas till _at least_ November!" Taylor dragged her outside to his jeep. "Can you believe that? Honestly!"

"Shut up and get in," he flung the door open for her.

"See you tomorrow!" River called brightly, climbing into the passenger seat.

It took Ben, Kevin and Mikey to get Steph into Kevin's car, and when she was firmly belted in, she snapped her fingers in wonderment, creating a small flame. "I can make fire guys, how wacky is that?"

"For the love of God take that Cooper's glove off her!" Mikey whined.

"We're taking you home Steph!" Ben spoke to her like she was five.

"To the moon?" Steph asked, watching her hand slowly wave back and forth before her eyes.

"What. The. _Hell_. Did. You. Do." Gwen said.

"For the record," Kevin said, not meeting her gaze, choosing instead to watch his hand intently as he searched for his keys. "I wasn't here today,"

"This is more than slightly problematic," Julie said evenly.

"You can say that again," Gwen groaned. Knowing Steph, it was impossible to know what would happen with her in this state.

"Hey," Mikey leaned against the passenger door, gazing thoughtfully at them. "If she doesn't make it to sun up, can I call dibs on her xBox?"

XOXOX

**Meh…the ending got a bit random for me; I tried rewriting the whole thing but Steph always ended up getting hurt, so I gave up. We may have to take out a restraining order to keep Kevin and Steph from killing each other later on, but we'll see what happens :)**

**I notice that reviews are getting fewer and fewer; if its really that bad, please tell me, that's why I came here for the constructive criticism. Even if you tell me the whole thing was rubbish and needs binning I'll be happy to know someone took the time pick out what was wrong and tell me. Even flames from hell would be encouraging! ;)**

**Anyways, tell whenever I get another free moment in time**

**x x x**


	19. If all else fails

**AN: a quickish update, a lot has happened in the last week and I have a lot of mess to clear up. So I didn't get much KevinxGwen in this chapter, but I definitely will in the next cause I'm doing 'In Charms Way'. Just trying to set up the downfall (damn Shakespeare and his poetic ass to hell for creating the romance genre and making me read it!)**

_**If all else fails**_

Steph was looking forward to the weekend, especially because she had gotten over the head trauma and she'd already paid Kevin back by spray-painting his ride bright pink. She'd helped him clean it off, but she had threatened to do something far worse if he tried that stunt again, he'd regret it.

There was some American National Holiday, something akin to a Bank Holiday, for whatever reason, and this Friday, up until the following Monday evening, was basically one long weekend. The reason for the national holiday fell upon deaf ears, although Dylan reminded her again and again about his heritage. The best part of the whole thing was that Uncle Max was taking them all camping, and her dad was coming with them.

Since River's soon-to-appear bump would ruin her bikini figure, Miley had taken it upon herself to organise a little trip of their own to the beach. Not that Steph was glad to see the back of them or anything, but it would be great to hang out with people her own age. Miley was becoming almost unbearable, and River had taken to hiding away with the excuse of preparing for the psyche tests she would have to run.

Steph practically flew down the stairs Friday morning with her rucksack, and nearly knocked Gerald over in the hallway.

"Careful, Steph," he yawned widely. "I don't know where you get your energy from…"

"We're going camping!" Steph sang, bouncing into the kitchen to pilfer some food. While the prospect of camping was enticing, the thought of Uncle Max's cooking was not.

"I'm coming," Mikey fell down the last few steps and followed Steph into the kitchen. "Jesus Christ, Steph. It's still o'stupid hour in the morning! Can't a wolf get a little rest around here?"

"Nope!" Steph was busy packing crisps and chocolate and assorted candy into the various pockets on her rucksack. "This is Kevin's first trip in the Rust Bucket! We need to mentally prepare him for the trauma-"

"I need to mentally prepare myself for the trauma of getting up before nine in the morning," Mikey grumbled, stalking out of the room.

Steph was filling canister's when Gerald stuck his head round the door way and said, "Steph, your dad's here,"

Ian was sprawled on the sofa at a leisurely angle, admiring the new-framed picture on the wall. It had been taken after the Highbreed invasion; everyone present at the barbeque was squished into the frame, except Dylan's left arm had been cut out, but it was still an awesome picture.

"Hey half pint," Ian grinned.

"Dad! Where have you been at?" Steph tackled him the moment he stood up.

He slid something into her hands as she stepped back, and she appraised the little yellow and red packaging. "Err…dad? What is this?"

"It's an Avis sweet. All naturally occurring flavours and preservatives." He leant forward and hissed, "Don't tell your mother!"

"Sir!" she stuffed it into her bag.

Mikey rambled into the room and fell face first onto the sofa. "Just leave me where I die, I'm beyond caring…"

"Aww, Mikey!" Steph whined.

"Come now! We haven't even _left_," Ian chastened him. "The great out doors isn't that scary,"

"It is when Steph's out doors…" Mikey muttered darkly.

"Oh good, you'll all up," Steph's mother bustled into the room and started checking over the pile of bags on the rug.

"Well that's entirely a matter of opinion." Steph raised an eyebrow at Mikey.

"And I _hope_ you're not sneaking anything onto the RV." Michelle gave them both a hard glance. "You know Max enjoys cooking for you all, I don't want you hurting his feelings."

Steph made herself look offended, but it was hard with her dad pulling stricken faces at her behind her mother's back. "It's not like Kevin and I are gonna do a runner and wind up at the Burger Shack." Steph said eventually when she trusted herself not to laugh.

"You and Kevin," Michelle tutted impatiently. "I don't know how Cari puts up with the two of you,"

"I think it's more a case of _us_ putting up with _Cain_," Steph pointed out. She and Kevin would purposefully try to wind him up whenever she was hanging out at his place. They hadn't done that in a while though…Kevin was a bit wearing to be around at the moment. Steph was hoping she's be able to resurrect the old Kevin while they were camping; maybe chucking Ben over a cliff would cheer him up, it would certainly make Steph feel better.

XOXOX

Gwen was just finishing her toast when there came a booming knock at the door. Her parents were still getting up, so Gwen had to answer the door with her bag slung over one shoulder and a wayward piece of toast clenched between her teeth.

The moment the door was unlocked it was flung open and Steph grabbed her by the arms. "Come on lets go go _go_!" she shouted, dragging Gwen out the door.

Grandpa was sitting in the driver's seat, with Ian in the passenger's seat, grinning broadly in a typically Steph like manner. "Morning camper!"

"Hi Ian!" Gwen said through her mouthful of toast.

Steph was already bouncing around like a maniac, and Mikey was seated at the table, holding a steaming flask. "Hey," he looked up with a grin. "Sleep well?"

"Better than you, apparently," Gwen dumped her bag with theirs and sat down opposite him. "What's that?" she nodded at the flask.

"Coffee." Mikey yawned. "Steph kicked me out of bed about half an hour ago. Even werewolves need beauty sleep, you know."

Gwen laughed, and they started chatting about nothing in particular. Ben came aboard, and he and Steph were instantly having a wrestling match in the back, yelling and screaming at each other. Grandpa had to raise his voice to tell them to shut up, but Ian waved a hand vaguely in their direction and said something about 'they'll live'.

"Ian's like an older version of Steph, who's dyed her hair and is slightly more mature." Mikey concluded as they pulled up outside Kevin's house.

"Not even slightly," Gwen giggled.

"Yeah!" Mikey insisted. "If he wasn't he'd've joined in."

Gwen grudgingly agreed that he had a point there.

"Gwen, could you go knock on the door?" Grandpa said from the driver's seat when they pulled outside Kevin's house.

"Just to make sure he didn't die in his sleep," Steph said sarcastically.

Gwen pushed Ben out of the way and stepped down onto the sidewalk. She rapped politely on the door and waited for a response. Steph was hanging out of the Rust Bucket's door, complaining loudly about waiting.

The door opened, and Gwen smiled at Cari. "Morning!"

"Oh, hello dear. Kevin's just coming," she looked back over her shoulder at the stairs. "Kevin! Gwen's here!"

"I'm coming!" he yelled back.

"Get your butt up here _now_!" Steph yelled, stalking up the path to the doorway. She squealed when Ian marched up behind her, grabbed her round the waist, throwing her over his shoulder, and marched back to the Rust Bucket. "Hey! Put me down! I'm not five, dad!"

"Lovely to see you again, Cari!" he said brightly to her.

"Hey!" Gwen looked inside again, and saw Crystal clinging to Kevin's waist. "Let go!"

"But you said we were going to the pier!" Crystal was heart broken that Kevin was spending four days away from her.

"Next time, I have to go!" he peeled her from him and dumped her at the top of the stairs. "Bye mom!"

"Take care!" Cari waved them off as Gwen and Kevin went back to the Rust Bucket.

In case of any emergency that was most likely to happen, Steph and Kevin hooked Kevin's car up to the tow bar at the back of the RV. That way they had two vehicles and wasted less gas getting to the forest. Kevin had to drag his sister back to the house again before he finally got into the Rust Bucket and they drove away.

It was nice to have just the gang around, but Gwen was already having second thoughts; Steph and Ben were at it hammer and tongs. Kevin and Mikey were being somewhat more civilised, playing a game of poker, but they were swearing at each other in varying languages every move, so Gwen plugged herself into her ipod and ignored them for the rest of the journey.

XOXOX

"…So, all I had to do was diffuse the bomb," Max said, flipping the burgers on the barbeque. "So Devin and I…"

"That story's way better than he makes it out to be," Ian said to himself.

Steph laughed, and started pelting Ben with bread bits. They chased each other off into the trees, and Ian estimated it would be another ten minutes before they came back. He over heard Gwen and Kevin by the picnic table talking, and watched Mikey prowl in human form around the clearing, looking for sand spiders.

Kevin stalked past Ian, and he poked the boy in the ribs. "I know a much more exciting version of Max's story, if you're interested."

Kevin looked up at him, wide eyed and eager. "Did my dad really diffuse a bomb with garden sheers?"

Ian laughed, a clear image of Devin in his mind's eye. "The idiot thought pruning clips were more appropriate." He remembered that little encounter well. He had wanted to throttle Devin when all as said and done, but the startled look in his eyes when he said that it had seemed all right at the time to use gardening equipment to bring down a space ship…Ian missed that dark haired, Tennessee idiot.

Steph eventually grew bored of Ben, and sauntered over to listen to more stories with Kevin. Ian had them both enraptured with his tales, completely forgetting that Max was still telling his version of the story.

"Kids? Mind checking the refrigerator for me? I think there as some soda in there," Max said eventually when he realised he'd lost his audience.

"Race ya!" Steph pushed Kevin over and ran to the RV.

He ran after her, tackling her to the ground just before she could get inside. Ian turned away from the laughter with a smile. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Gwen standing in front of him. "I haven't seen him this cheerful in ages," she said, with a sad little smile.

"Can't imagine why," Ian said, turning to look at them again. Steph and Kevin were wrestling, sparks flying from her hands. "Finally met his stepfather formally the other day," Ian pulled a face. Devin would be turning in his grave – if he was dead – at Cari's choice. Not that Ian would have _ever_ told her that…

"Hmm," Gwen picked a hair from her cup and took a sip. "He likes listening to stories about his dad." She said suddenly.

Ian laughed. "Devin was a great guy. Much as Cain likes to ignore the fact, Kevin's his father's son all right."

Max joined them at the table and laughed. "Spitting image of him, too."

They watched Mikey creep up on Steph, and pounce, morphing mid-jump and yelling, "_Kamikaze_!" next second he was running for his life with Kevin and Steph on his tail, fists of metal and fire blazing in the setting sun.

"I miss him," Ian said wistfully. Watching his daughter and his friend's son was at once soothing and upsetting at the same time.

Gwen was contemplating the bottom of her cup. "I wish there was something I could do," she said at last when Max left them to it, deciding that he would get the soda much faster by doing it himself instead of trusting Steph and Kevin to do it.

Ian cocked his head to one side and appraised her.

"Sometimes I wish I could just turn back the clock…"

"I think you'll find that most earth science fictions warn against that sort of thing," Ian pointed out. He could see the poignant look in her eyes, but he knew from past experience how foolhardy youth could be. "You could end up your own grandmother or something. That would just be weird,"

Gwen giggled. "I don't think that would happen. As long as someone was sensible about it…"

"You're too young to worry about that sort of thing," Ian insisted, shooing her away good-naturedly. "Go have fun with your friends. One day you'll be standing there watching your own children playing and you'll realise just how much you've missed out on."

Gwen threw him a sarcastic look, something akin to the type she gave Steph, and settled down to read a book.

Ian was about to ask Max when the food would be ready, when the ground started to shudder violently. He was back on his feet the moment it ended, casting around for Steph. Kevin was not too far away, picking himself slowly off the ground, looking thoroughly bewildered. Mikey came loping up a slope, followed closely by Steph; apparently they had taken a tumble down hill when the shaking began.

"Are you all right?" he demanded, racing over to them.

Mikey had twigs sticking up at odd angles in his fur, Kevin looked dazed, and Steph had a bruise that was slowly darkening on her forehead.

"What was that?" she asked, wide eyed.

Ben and Gwen converged on them, demanding the same explanation.

"It must have been a tremor," Gwen concluded dubiously.

"But we're not on a fault line," Mikey began.

"We have tremors in England all the time, and we're not on a fault line," Steph reminded him with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, as long as you're-" Ian said, inspecting her yellowing bruise, but he was interrupted by a shriek of pain.

They all whipped round before running to Max. He had collapsed on the ground by the barbeque. When Max came around, he insisted he was fine, even though none of them believed him for a second.

"Alright, tell you what." Max said eventually when Gwen wouldn't let the subject drop. "If I'm not feeling well by tomorrow morning I'll go to the hospital for a check up."

He bustled past Ian to the RV again, and Steph exchanged looks with Ben and Gwen. "You believe him?" Ben said quietly.

"No." the girls said flatly.

"Does this mean there's no food?" Mikey asked in a small voice. "I'm hungry."

"Guess not," Kevin sighed heavily, flopping down onto the bench.

"Hey!" Steph snapped her fingers and dived for her rucksack. "Take some and pass it on. Good thing I brought extra rations,"

"Steph," Ian frowned at his daughter. "Where did you get this?"

"Mostly River. She found this deal and got some stuff for the workshop and I brought it home." She proceeded to stuff her face full of Pringles. "Problem?"

"Argh," Ian massaged his temples. "How does Michelle put up with you?"

"It's more a case of," Steph began, but Mikey tackled her to the ground with a "Rawr!"

Instead of joining in, Kevin sat down in Steph's place and started eating her Pringles. "What?" he demanded when Gwen poked him in the ribs. "It's free food, isn't it?"

Ian took the packet of Avis sweets and passed them to Gwen. "Try these, they're delicious."

XOXOX

Max went to sleep before the others, but they followed suit soon after. Because they were higher up and in bear country, Mikey settled down as a wolf and the others curled up around him. Steph and Ian perched on a rock not too far away, heads tucked under wings and out for the count.

With Ben on one side, and Kevin and Gwen on the other, Mikey found it a little uncomfortable on the uneven ground. He wanted to shift some of the rocks out from underneath him, but it wasn't worth disturbing the others.

Instead, Mikey turned his head around, before someone hit him in the nose. He snorted, not quite jumping to his feet, but still startled.

"Get your nose outta my face," Kevin grunted.

"Ouch! That _hurt_!" Mikey snarled.

Ben punched him in the gut, and Mikey swung his head round to snarl at him instead. Gwen elbowed him in the ribs and said, "Shut up, I'm tired."

Mikey scowled at the rock in front of his nose as he settled his head in between his front paws. "I vote we take a tent next time."

XOXOX

Max had a very strange dream; he was in control of a Highbreed…thing. It was their technology, but his awareness was sinking in and out without warning. Interspersed in memories from years ago, he floated in a twilight zone, able to contemplate a few things.

For one, was Ian; and another was Devin.

Max remembered when he first set eyes on Kevin as an eleven year old, how broken and twisted he had been. Why hadn't he ever taken it upon himself to contact Cari? Even now he didn't know the reason why. The last he had seen of her had been not long after Ian had gone missing. Then he had heard she'd got married and decided that was the end of it.

It had been a major surprise when he'd discovered that Kevin was helping Ben when the Highbreed came around. Much as he doubted the boy's intentions, and indeed he gave him much cause for concern, Max had to hand it to Kevin; he'd really pulled through when they'd needed him.

Max wondered vaguely as he mind slid back and forth between dreams, wondering how things would have turned out if Ian and Devin hadn't gone missing. He supposed Steph and Kevin would have grown up together (it had been a long standing joke with their fathers that they would live on the same street and their kids would have the same tug-of-war relationship as them). Kevin probably would have grown up securely attached the rails, a respectable young gentleman.

Then again, knowing his father…he'd still be the rogue he was now.

Max wished it had twigged before exactly who Kevin was before. Who knows? Maybe things would have turned out differently if he'd taken Ben's hand when he offered it. Still, Kevin had managed to go from no paddles to too many; between them, they somehow kept him from straying down that path again.

Another thing that kept flitting through his mind from time to time was Gwen's involvement in it all. After the invasion, but before Vilgax showed up, Max had taken them all down to the lake for the day, and he remembered watching his granddaughter and their delinquent friend. Frank's outrage that Gwen had chosen such a boy had kept Max vigilant against anything that could hurt her. But in the end, he needn't have bothered.

The look in her eyes when Kevin had cornered her with the water gun, the sparkle of laughter as she tried to dodge around him and ended up caught in his arms…it reminded Max of Verdona. Kevin had picked her up and spun her round, both of them laughing before he'd put her down and kissed her.

Teenaged romances hardly ever lasted, Max knew that, but there was something deeper and more meaningful in the way they interacted…that is, until recently.

After a few conversations with River on the matter, Max had conceded that Kevin would eventually sort things out in his mind and then he'd start acting like normal again. Interestingly, it was River who had said Ben needed a good kick in the teeth to deflate his ego – as insulting as that sounded, Max knew she was being frank. She had said as much about Kevin needing to be knocked down a peg or two for good measure, to curb that cocky attitude of his. Not that River had admitted anything, but Max could see she was fond of them all.

That brought him back round to Devin. It was the same quirky grin and self-assured smirk that he and his son both carried as they had run head first into all kinds of trouble. The last mission they had worked on together, Max, Devin and Ian, the one he had been recounting to the kids before Ian stole the limelight.

Devin had managed to single-handedly take the ship and disable the bomb, leaving Ian and Max to clear up the mess. He remembered Ian threatening to carve up Devin's face with the damn sheers if he tried to pull a stunt like that again. Devin had just laughed, and shoved him out of the way.

Max was plucked from his musings, his mind still in a freeze frame of that mission, before he was suddenly standing in a bright light. Several pairs of arms grabbed him before he could plummet to the ground. He head was pounding but that didn't stop his rambling.

"So, Devin Levin had the bomb…" a flash of red caught his eye, and he looked up.

Gwen's anxious face swarm into view.

"Have I told this part before?" Max asked, unable to remember where he had gotten to in his story.

He was enveloped by several hugs from all sides, and felt something touch his shoulder. Looking up he saw Kevin grinning at him.

"No that's what's up!"

"Erm," they all turned to look at Mikey. "Now might be the time to run, as in _screaming_."

"Why?" Ben asked. Even as he spoke, the whole structure lurched beneath them.

"Nothing's controlling this thing!"

Max was still slightly dazed, but he was aware enough to notice the Highbreed suddenly run up to them and grab the controls. Suddenly Max was lifted into the air and onto Mikey's back and they were all running for the exit.

"Hey! What about the people back there?" Steph suddenly shouted.

Mikey scrambled to a halt and they all looked at each other wildly for a moment. "You guys get going," Ian said, shoving Kevin and the others down one corridor. "Steph, you're with me!"

XOXOX

It was a miracle they made it out in one piece to be honest, but they managed it. The military took the people from Steph and Ian to give them medical attention, and Steph took the moment to collapse and rest before Kevin kicked her.

"Hey! Get up! I'm not dragging you back to the Rust Bucket."

Steph swore at him but dragged herself to her feet anyway. They had to traipse back to his car, and Mikey walked Max to the Rust Bucket with Ian so they could drive back to the campsite.

No one said anything as Kevin drove cross-country, until they were five minutes away and Ben blurted out, "You got any food?"

Steph beat he head against the window. "_Why_?" she faked a raking sob. "Just…_why_?"

"Cause I'm hungry?" Ben said hopefully.

Steph kicked him out of the car and started chasing him across the clearing. Kevin got out and was about to get Gwen's door when she opened it herself and stepped out. She stretched her arms above her head and sighed. "I'm glad that's over with-"

A streak of black came out of nowhere and pinned her against the side of the car. Kevin was about to go mental and smash it, but he heard Gwen giggling. "Mikey! Quit it!"

Sure enough, Mikey was standing up on his hind legs; tail wagging blissfully, and licking her face. "Gwen!" he enthused. "There's an ice cream shack down by the lake about half a mile from here! Wanna go check it out?"

Kevin fought the impulse to hit Mikey, and settled for pushing him out of the way. Mikey landed heavily on his front paws and bounced up and down like a playful puppy.

"Don't you like ice cream?" he asked with a wolfish grin.

"Come on!" Gwen took his arm suddenly and smiled at him. "It'll be fun,"

Kevin wasn't entirely sure what to do, and in his panic he pushed away from both of them and said, "I'd rather not." He was a complete jackass, he knew it. But he really didn't feel like ice cream.

"Wanna go anyway?" Mikey insisted as Kevin walked away.

"Well…" Gwen sounded as though she was tempted to stay here.

"Please!" Mikey whined.

"Oh all right!" Gwen huffed.

Kevin looked up in time to see Mikey – humanoid again – and Gwen walking along a path into the trees. He sighed, and stalked off to see what Steph was doing.

When Mikey and Gwen finally returned, they were laughing, and Mikey had ice cream dripping from his ear. Obviously, there was some joke Kevin had missed. He knew it was his own fault for not going with them, but he still felt a pang of jealousy when Gwen gave Mikey a hug before walking over to the RV.

"Sup?" Steph punched Kevin's shoulder.

He didn't say anything.

"Hey! Helloooooooo! Anyone home?" she rapped her knuckles against his forehead.

"Go away," he twisted her arm around and shoved her away.

"Aww, c'mon! Wassup?" she insisted.

Kevin glowered at Mikey, who was now in cahoots with Ben. "Why does Gwen get on with him so well?"

"Um…" Steph looked from Kevin to the guys and back again. "Mikey? He gets on with everyone, what's so amazing about that? Gwen likes him cause he's a likeable guy. Besides!" she drawled, walking away with a spring in her step. "He's got _nothing_ on you,"

"Meaning?" Kevin shot after her.

"Meaning, she's always been a member of Team Edward," Steph said over her shoulder with a smirk.

Kevin merely scowled after her.

Great, just _great_. So he was the masochistic rock-sparkle skinned prissy guy, was he?

XOXOX

**It's very quiet out there, but the traffic page in my account suggests there are still readers out there, please review! I can see I've gone wrong somewhere, but I need you guy's to tell me where**

**Anyways, I'm signing off for the next week; I have a project on the mammalian respiratory system tat needs touching up -_-;;**

**x x x**


	20. In Charm's Way

**AN: I keep promising to pick up the standard but I dunno if I've managed it this time round. I basically sat down and wrote this to take my mind off something. Just had a major family crisis that's eaten into half term, so I haven't had a chance to sit down and sort anything out. Anyways, do read and review, the lack of feedback isn't all that encouraging at the moment**

_**In Charm's Way**_

"Whoo!" Mikey jumped back and forth in the sea, tail spinning like a propeller. He flattened Steph as he ran back to the sandy beach and tripped on a rock, embedding himself in a sand dune. He was still spitting grains of sand when Steph flounced by with a grin.

"You're losing your touch," she sniffed.

Mikey crouched under a rock and fazed before he ran after her. He knew she hadn't gone too far, she had to be up by the rocks where Gwen and the others were sunbathing. When he got there, Mikey scratched his head, looking back and forth. "Hey, where'd Steph go?"

Ben shrugged, more concerned with his phone.

"Haven't seen her in a while," Gwen told him. "Did you check by the fish and chip stand at the parking lot?"

"No," Mikey looked at Kevin. "Haven't been searching that long. You a'right, Kevin?"

The look on his face said otherwise, but Kevin defiantly said, "Yes."

Mikey shrugged. He turned to have another look down by the rock pool but Steph came out of nowhere and jumped him. "AHA!" she shouted.

Mikey yelped and sprang out of the way, loosing his footing in the sand and landing on top of Kevin. He gave Mikey an almighty shove and glowered at him.

"Sorry mate," Mikey snarled at Steph. "Lady Bitch-a-lot thought piss taking was the order of the day."

Steph grinned unrepentantly. "Chips?" she said hopefully.

"Yeah, all right!" Mikey sprang to his feet. "Anyone else?"

"Go on," Gwen said, rolling her eyes.

Steph and Mikey were winding their way up to the stand, when he heard Ben yelling. "Get back here!" they exchanged looks before running to see what was happening.

The…_things_ that were running after them looked like the golems in that book River owned on Greek mythology. It was also a star constellation, but from which galaxy Mikey didn't know. Either way, they were terrorising the people on the beach, so Mikey leapt forward without a second thought and morphed.

Someone nearby screamed, probably because they'd never seen a wolf in this state, let alone one several times bigger than any timber wolf. Mikey rushed past Ben, who was beating the omnitrix against his fist. "Stupid thing!"

Mikey ducked under the golem's arm and latched onto its leg, snarling. For such large creatures, they sure were slow moving and stupid; it was easy to out manoeuvre them. The fight didn't last too long; Gwen whipped out a spell and banished the golems, but one of them grabbed Mikey by the tail and dragged him with it.

Naturally, Mikey panicked and scrambled to get a foot hold on the shifting sand, but a solid wall of manna came out of no where and slammed into the thing's face, making it let him go and get sucked into the vortex.

Mikey went flying, and crashed into Kevin, who was picking himself up off the ground. "Sorry," he mumbled for the second time that day, trying to get the sand from his fur.

When the little kid came up to Kevin with a determined look in his eye, Mikey knew this would end badly.

Defiantly, the kid proclaimed that he understood completely why Kevin had been a jerk and ruined their ball, saying that it was all right that he was a monster and so on and so forth. Mikey winced on Kevin's behalf, and before he could retaliate, Mikey pressed his head between the boy's shoulder blades and head butted him away.

"All right, kiddo. Hero's regrouping here, get back to your parents, don't skip school and all that stuff."

The boy turned and looked Mikey in the eye, a good few feet over his head, and said, "I didn't know werewolves lived in Bellwood."

"Move it, half pint," Mikey said gruffly. "That tongue is gonna get you in trouble one day," he nudged the boy away again.

"Are all werewolves like in Harry Potter and not Twilight?" the boy persisted.

Mikey was momentarily stumped. "Huh?"

"Cause your accent's not American, it's English."

Beautifully crafted logic right there, not that Mikey cared much. "I'm an alien from Mars," River's standard tactic for getting small noses out of important business. "But don't tell anyone. Now, _shoo_!"

Mollified, the boy left to find his parents, and Mikey padded back to the others. He was about to open his mouth to suggest going for a smoothie or something, but Kevin shoved his way past with a thunderous expression on his face. Mikey leapt out of the way, turning to watch him go.

Ben stalked by, glowering at Kevin's back. Steph and Gwen stood either side of Mikey, watching the two of them go. Gwen sighed, and placed her head in her hands.

"I'm at my wits end…"

Mikey nosed her hand in support. "Maybe he's just having a bad day. That obnoxious little kid didn't help matters either…"

Steph said nothing; she was tossing a flame ball from one hand to another, as though contemplating throwing it at Kevin.

"Steph!" Mikey and Gwen said in unison.

"What?" she said innocently, throwing the ball into the air above their heads and watching the sparks fizzle out. "I wasn't gonna do anything."

Gwen put a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Let's go home."

"Kay," Mikey said, following her to the pile of things left in the wake of destruction.

The two girls held the rug and towels up while Mikey beat his tail against them to get the sand off. Gwen sighed heavily to herself, folding them up and stacking them neatly in the kit bag. Steph roughly dismantled the umbrella and shoved it into the bag as well, denting several of the spurs in the process. Mikey came across Kevin's bag, which he'd left in his anger; upon handing it to Steph to take home, she snatched it from Mikey's hands and stalked off to her jeep.

"Dweeb," she muttered under her breath.

XOXOX

"Hey," Gwen said, dropping the bags into a pile by the door of the workshop.

Miley and River looked up from the table where they were sorting through some notes. "Heye," River grinned. It slid from her face somewhat when she saw Steph's expression. "Is something up?"

Steph muttered darkly to herself and proceeded to squirm under her jeep and ignore them all. Mikey made the excuse of going for smoothies and left the room, leaving Gwen to tell the tale.

She related it to River, who sat by listening while Miley sorted through a box of needles.

"Sounds like he's having a bad day," River said eventually.

"Let's see…Liver-4…" Miley murmured to herself. She said another random string of organs and numbers, and River rounded on her.

"You're staying away from my scalp."

"But if I could switch off the hormone glands for a bit-"

"I need those right now!" River batted her away. "Stick to the arms, please? Anyway," she turned to Gwen again.

"I can't help but think I could have prevented this…" Gwen began.

"Honey," Miley said, catching her by surprise. "If River doesn't know what's going through his head, then _he_ doesn't either."

River snorted derisively.

"You don't give yourself enough credit for the work you do." Miley insisted.

"Wouldn't say that…" River shrugged, offering her arm up. "But Miles _is_ kinda right though. There's not much you can do about it."

"I just wish there was something I could do," Gwen thought about all the spell books she had been perusing recently. Not a thing had come up that could help.

"He'll come round," Miley said vaguely, sticking a needle in. "Say when."

"I'm sure sooner or later something will happen to make Kevin realise just how much he's loved among the ranks," River said soothingly. "And then everything will be fine and dandy – ouch!" her arm jerk at an unnatural angle. "What did you hit?" she asked Miley in amazement.

"The Fire Points." Miley frowned over her book. "I missed Metal by a mile…"

"Huh?" Gwen asked.

"Oh, Five Element Acupuncture." River explained. "Basically when you're ill your 'chi' or energy – which I _still_ believe is manna – moves the wrong way around your body." Miley flicked her ear at this remark about her beloved chi, and proceeded to pick out a nasty looking needle which was much thicker than before. "People often have an element that is more out of balance than the others, which is the one you are treated for in acupuncture. I'm a Metal person because my lungs are the first thing that go down the tubes when I'm ill."

Gwen was intrigued and wished to learn more, but she didn't want to be sidetracked either. Picking up her bag again, she said, "I'll see you later. I've got some work to do,"

"Watch how you go!"

Gwen was planning on walking home, but Mikey pitched up with a tray of smoothies. "A'right?" he asked, slurping one of them.

"Yeah," she sighed heavily.

"Wanna go do something?" Mikey hinted.

"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "But I'm not going on your bike."

"Don't worry, it's at Steph's house. I'm okay with walking, though. Just let me dump these and get my skateboard." He didn't bother waiting for a response, and went off back to the workshop. He came back, rolling along on his board, and they headed back to her neighbourhood.

Mikey was easy company; undemanding, and less spiky than Steph. Gwen was quite fond of him already. She remembered with a stab of pain how it used to be so easy to talk to Kevin, and how difficult it was now. Mikey was easy going and fun to be around, but there was no spark between them the way there had been with Kevin. Gwen knew their developing relationship was more like River and Lea, or Kevin and Steph. Bestest friends of the opposite sex.

He cracked a few jokes, made her laugh when he managed to roll over a cat and fall into someone's garden, and then he stared after someone walking a dog at the end of the block.

"Err…Mikey?" Gwen waved a hand in front of his face.

"It's her!" his face lit up.

"Who?" Gwen poked him for an answer.

"That Newman girl! I think she's Kevin's class mate,"

Gwen remembered the girl vaguely. She'd been Kevin's portrait partner, and she's recently died her hair several wacky colours. "So?" she asked slyly.

"She's so pretty," Mikey affected a love struck prince charming, and pretended to fawn over her. "Skin the colour of alabaster…hair at once the soft texture and fiery tone of the Indian Tiger…a voice as clear and musical as a bell…eyes that look straight into the soul, like crystalline azure the colour of the sky…" he sighed, fingers interlocked and hands under his chin, leaning to one side and balancing on the tips of his toes.

Gwen regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before sucking in a deep breath and blowing against the side of his face. Mikey somehow managed to over balance and land flat on his face. She laughed at him, hands clasped innocently behind her back. "You fail. Epically."

"Hey!" Mikey got up and gave her a playful shove. "I was having a poetic moment!"

They bickered one down the sidewalk until they reached her house. It had been nice to distract herself for a bit from her worries, but they were starting to creep up on her again. Gwen offered for Mikey to come in for a drink, but he declined. "I'd better get going. Steph needs a hand with her engine and Kevin's sort of not around so I said I'd help her later. Anyways, I need to email my parents before they think I've been eaten by a mushroom or something."

Gwen snorted. "Mushroom?"

"Giant mutant vegetables are _scary_," Mikey whispered conspiratorially. "See ya!" he called, already rolling down the sidewalk.

XOXOX

It wasn't until much later that Mikey heard from anyone; he and Steph had been at her house working on the engine when they got a text from Ben asking them to meet him at Mr Smoothie. It seemed insignificant at the time, but when they arrived, Mikey could see instantly that something was wrong.

Gwen was huddled over her drink, focusing on a green stain on the plastic tabletop. Steph was by her side instantly, and Mikey sat down beside Ben, taking the offered cup and slurping away at it.

"What happened?" he asked in a low voice when Steph started babbling on about something.

Ben explained that Kevin was being a jerk, and Mikey nodded seriously. Some stupid bint called Charmcaster (Mikey laughed aloud at the name) had drained her powers away. He started chatting with Steph to ease the tension, but Gwen's heart clearly wasn't in it. Finally Mikey got up, swung his legs over the table and plonked down the other side to give Gwen a hug.

She leant into it, seeking comfort, and Steph blurted out, "You know normally people get up and walk around?"

Mikey smirked. "I'm _ab_normal. It's twice as good cause it has two more letters."

Ben stood up so suddenly that he knocked his drink over, startling the others. Mikey looked up, and saw Kevin standing beside a girl about their age with silver hair at the other end of the car park.

This girl seemed to be searching for something, before she rounded on Kevin. From the look on his face he was winding her up, but before Mikey could react, the fight broke out. Since the girl attacked Kevin as well, Mikey guessed he was still on their side.

More of those weird golems from before marched on them, and Mikey was hard pressed to avoid getting hit. He phased and dived out of the way, ducking as Steph flew overhead and crashed into the girl they were fighting. Steph got blasted away, and Mikey pounced from behind, sinking his teeth into her arm.

It was the first instinct that came to mind, but the hot, metallic taste that filled his mouth made him want to gag. This tactic only worked with three or more Lupus, and Ben was running after something else as that little puking alien. He got kicked squarely in the gut and he went flying, landing with a skid on the tarmac, his right side stinging from the rough surface.

Gwen rushed to meet the girl before she could advance on him, and chanted something in another language. Mikey tried to get to his feet, but by the time he did, the fight was over. He just saw Gwen closing a vortex on them before Kevin staggered over.

"About time," he began.

Gwen's face-hardened, and Mikey felt it prudent to interject.

"…Kinda humiliating though," Kevin went on.

Ben, sitting astride a large cup, managed to throw up a volume of blueberry juice that exceeded the dimensions of his stomach – all over Kevin.

Steph swooped down and landed, changing back to her human form and laughing at him. Mikey wrinkled his nose and sniffed.

"Or just a warm up for this humiliation," Kevin sighed, looking at Ben.

"Eww." Mikey stated.

Gwen's lips twitched into a half smile before turning down at the corners again.

The omnitrix timed out, and Ben belched loudly. "Sorry," he said sheepishly.

"Ben, you're the most disgusting guy I ever met." Mikey told him, preparing to spring. "I love ya buddy!" he launched himself and toppled them both off the cup. "Anyway, where did the huge smoothie come from?"

"Do pay attention, 007." Steph drawled in the sort of voice you'd expect from an English butler.

Mikey padded back over to them, and noticed that Steph was ignoring Kevin. She turned on her heel and walked away, back ramrod straight.

"What's her problem?" Kevin asked.

Mikey bent his head down and walked to Gwen's side, not entirely sure what to do.

"C'mon," Ben tugged at Kevin's arm. "Let's get you cleaned up." He led the way towards the road that ran up to the sea front.

Mikey phased again and followed them for a few paces before looking back at Gwen. "You coming?"

At once he knew he'd said the wrong thing. Gwen had mostly held it together this evening, but now her eyes were brimming with tears. Mikey rushed back over to her, flapping his arms helplessly around her as though it could calm her down. She sniffed once…twice…she started crying quietly until Mikey held out his arms, then she wrapped her arms around his middle and started bawling into his shoulder. Mikey reached awkwardly for his phone and texted Ben to say he'd taken Gwen home before leading her away from the car park.

He only stopped to ask her if she wanted to go back to her house, and she shook her head, so he bent their steps to Steph's instead. Mikey got her inside and upstairs with little trouble; the kids were watching TV downstairs, Dylan and Tom had taken off with Mel and the twins to see a film, so it was only Steph in the attic.

Steph was angrier than Mikey had ever seen her before. She hissed in Mikey's ear what Kevin had said earlier that evening to Gwen, and Mikey tried to take it all on board and calm her down at the same time. Much as Mikey was pissed off with Kevin, he knew he couldn't really do anything about it now. One of the things Kevin had said was that apparently she and Mikey were getting quite cosy. Complete bullshit, obviously, but Mikey's main concern was Gwen at that moment. He could throw a hissy fit or whatever later.

XOXOX

Ben sat reading the text Steph had sent him while he waited for Kevin. They were down on the beach, and Mikey had taken Gwen home. Steph was seething on the text messages, and Ben hoped for Kevin's sake he didn't try to go speak to her right now. This was beyond minor petty squabbles and immature pranks.

Steph was livid.

He was pretty angry too, but he was willing to give some leeway.

Kevin came back up the beach, whipping his hair back from his face. "Good idea Tennyson." He said, managing a smile. "Quickest way to get cleaned off."

Ben smiled back reflexively. "I've had a lot of spills in my time."

"Where's Gwen?"

"Gone home." Ben's smile slipped into a frown. "You hurt her pretty bad." He was trying to rein in his desire to yell and scream at him.

"_She's _hurt?" Kevin demanded. "What about me?"

Ben clenched his fists to stop himself from going Humongosaur on Kevin's ass.

"I'm the one stuck like this, and she hasn't done a thing about it!"

Ben was getting close to punching Kevin in the face, even though he'd probably come off worst. "_You_," he snarled, "are a selfish, rock-faced _jerk_."

"Yeah," Kevin turned his back on him. "Whatever."

"No, whatever!" Ben sprang to his feet, inwardly debating a punch up. His odds didn't looking too good. "She's been spending every spare moment looking through every magic book she can find to help you."

Kevin still stood with hunched shoulders, back turned to him.

"She's been doing it since the accident." Ben spat.

Startled, Kevin swung round to look Ben in the eye, stammering. "She…she never told me…"

Ben glowered. "Should she have had to?" they stood facing each other in silence for a while before he continued. "You were _way_ out of line, Kevin. Gwen's really upset,"

Kevin just stared at him like a fish at feeding time.

"I hope you have a good enough excuse to explain yourself." Ben bent down to grab his jacket and brushed the sand off it. "But you'll have to tell her yourself. I'm going." He slammed down the dial on the watch, hoping for Jet Ray but getting Cannon Bolt. "Stupid thing," he muttered darkly to himself, rolling forward instead of flying.

XOXOX

Kevin felt like he was in shock. He had no idea what to do. And the worst part was, he knew he deserved their anger. There was no excuse for the way he had acted.

And now, he may have lost the one good thing in his life. He could see no way to redeem himself, even if there were any.

It was a long time after Ben left that Kevin finally got up to go. His first impulse was to go home, but he knew he had to sort this mess he had made first. He drove to Gwen's house in a daze, putting on his ID Mask and knocking on the door without anything planned in his mind.

Gwen's mom opened the door, and looked startled. "Kevin! What are you doing here?" she peered more closely. "Is everything all right?"

"Is Gwen home?" he asked desperately.

"No, she's at Steph's house. Is something wrong?" she asked again, voice full of concern and pity.

It made his stomach lurch horribly, knowing he didn't deserve any sympathy. "No. I just need to speak to her. Thanks anyway,"

He turned back to his car before she could say anything and gunned the engine. During the sort ride to Steph's house, he made a ramshackle plan in his head of what he'd say to Gwen. It was nowhere near good enough to start making any sort of amends, but he couldn't just sit and do nothing.

Kevin banged the doorknocker, and Ian opened the door. "Hey!" he said brightly. "Blimey Kevin, what's the matter?" he stared at him in amazement.

"Is Gwen here?"

"Yeah, upstairs a think." Ian said.

Kevin pushed past to get inside, but Ian grabbed his arm.

"What gotten into all of you today? What happened?"

"Ian," Kevin fought to keep his voice even. "I really need to speak to Gwen,"

Speaking of which, as he tried to reach the stairs, at the end of the hall Gwen appeared in the kitchen doorway. She was placidly sipping from a steaming mug, looking rather casual. The moment she saw Kevin standing there she spun on her heel and retreated into the room.

"Gwen!" Kevin ran after her, only to run into Mikey at the doorway.

He looked very sheepish, but spoke in a calm and low voice. "I think it'd be best to leave her alone for the moment. Gwen's feeling a bit delicate."

Kevin wanted to shake him but knew he had no leg to stand on. "Please, Mikey!" he said desperately.

"Tell him to go away," Gwen said in a subdued voice.

Kevin forced his way into the kitchen, and saw her standing by the back door, shoulders heaving. "Gwen-" he began.

"Go away!" she spun on him, tears pouring down her face.

It was the worst sight ever, seeing her so upset and knowing he was the cause, but in that moment Kevin couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was; flame red hair burning under the harsh white light, green eyes bright with tears… And knowing that he wouldn't get her back. The venom in her glare was like acid eating away at his insides.

Gwen bolted, running past them both into the hallway and up the stairs. Mikey put a hand to his forehead and took a deep breath. "Look," he broke off when they heard a loud thump from above.

Mikey ran out of the room, and Kevin followed him. Gwen had managed to trip in her hasty escape, and was sprawled on the stairs, still sobbing. Kevin hesitated at the foot of the stairs, but Mikey flew past him to her side.

He carefully helped Gwen back to her feet, and put an arm around her shoulders. She leant into his embrace, clinging to him like a shipwrecked survivor clings to a rock. Mikey closed his eyes for a moment, as though gathering his thoughts, but before he could say anything, Steph was pacing down the stairs towards them.

Taking the momentary distraction, Mikey lifted Gwen up a step and murmured, "Time to go," he nudged and poked and pushed her up the stairs to the first landing while Steph descended like an avenging angel.

Kevin had never seen her this angry before; livid didn't even begin to cover it. Everything about Steph – from her stance to her expression – was aggressive. Her hand kept twitching, like she was contemplating throwing a fireball at him. She stopped on the last step, and Kevin backed up, knowing that he was about to get a right bollocking.

"Steph, listen, I-!"

"No," she spat, eyes blazing. "_You_ listen," she used a new swear word he had never heard her use before. "I don't give a shit what your lame excuse is. You've been god awful to be around for weeks, then you think you can turn round and start making false accusations and upsetting everyone. Gwen's my _friend_. She's like a sister to me and Ben, and I've known her far longer than you. You think for one moment I'd take your side over her's you are sadly mistaken."

Kevin winced, waiting for the shouting. Ben had recounted this one time when Steph had completely lost her temper. The shouting would come any minute now.

"You better get out of my sight before I kill you," Steph said viciously.

Startled, Kevin met her gaze. He knew she was angry, but he didn't think she would actually _kill _him. But her glare was so deadly, and her stance altered, weight shifting to the balls of her feet like she was about to charge.

On top of everything else, Steph's hatred felt like a final blow. He'd brought this on himself for being an idiot, but her loathing expression hurt more deeply than he could have ever imagined. Not only had he lost his love, he'd lost his best friend.

"Stephenie," said a low voice.

Kevin stepped out of the way so Ian could get in between them.

"Calm down."

Steph glared at her father before she finally started shouting. Kevin didn't catch half of it; she was so angry it was hard to make out any sentences, and it was also partly in Avis. Ian had to yell to make himself heard, but that didn't deter her.

Kevin wanted to run away, but he was rooted to the spot. Finally, it seemed as though there would be no headway made, and Steph paused in her screaming, face hidden behind a curtain of red and gold hair as she tried to put a lid on her anger.

"I'm sorry," Kevin managed to say in the silence.

He should have guessed it was coming sooner or later, but when Steph turned round and punched him Kevin felt the full force of her physical strength. She hit him upside the head, making him stagger backwards and catch his head on the corner of the wall behind him. Steph cursed him before running into the kitchen. The back door slammed loudly after her.

Kevin didn't make a move to get up, but Ian put his arms under his, and dragged Kevin to his feet. "Are you all right?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, fine." Kevin said, his voice breaking. He made a dash for the door before Ian could stop him.

There was no way he was going home, and there was no way he could bunk with anyone tonight. There was only one place he really could go, and he was dreading it all the same.

XOXOX

Taylor rolled his eyes at River, who was standing by the radio, doing a weird looking tribal dance to a song on the radio. It was that weird football league song, Waka waka or something random. She insisted it was Africans and another African language he couldn't remember the name of, but it sounded like made up nonsense to him.

"If you get down get up oh oh, if you get down get up eh eh! Tsamina mina zangalewa, aanawa aa!"

The reason for this spate of African culture was because one of her old classmates had recently posted a photo album on Face Book of a school trip they had made to South Africa, aptly naming the album 'Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)' River had been chatting away about all the cool stuff she'd seen in Krugar, and Taylor was good-naturedly bearing it.

"Django eh eh, django eh eh! Tsamina mina zangalewa, aanawa aa! Djagno eh eh, django eh eh! Tsamina mina zangalewa, aanawa aa!"

Taylor snuck up behind her and gave her a hug just as she was doing the final bit of her dance.

"This time for Afri- hey!"

"Okay, it was great to see you bustin' your butt on the dance floor and all, but you're in a delicate condition. Stop bouncing around like a cricket," he set her down on the sofa. "Be calm, like the heron."

"But I like crickets," she teased, taking her mug from the coffee table and drinking deeply. "And I _love_ that song! It was at Iyrs's wedding, we had so much fun…"

"Please calm down," Taylor groaned. "If not for you or junior, but for my sanity?" She stuck her tongue out, and sipping her hot chocolate. He rolled his eyes and went back to the washing up in the sink. For the very grown up conversation about abortions, finance and the pros of not getting married until it was financially viable and junior was older, River sure was acting immature today. Probably just the hormones…

The evening was drawing to a close when there was a knock at the door. River was plugged into her laptop, trying to fit text boxes onto a single page in Word, so Taylor answered it.

He was expecting the farmer with some random request like 'please exercise the horses tomorrow morning' or something. What he hadn't expected was one of the kids to pitch up on the doorstep. It was the guy with the ID Mask, though he wasn't wearing it. Taylor paused for a second before saying, "Kevin, right?" then he saw the state the boy was in.

"Hey Kevin!" River called, pushing her computer to one side. "How's it-?" she joined Taylor at the door, and took in the sight before her. "-Going… Kevin, what's wrong?"

The boy seemed to crumble before them, dissolving into tears. River stepped forward and he launched himself into her arms. Taylor took a step back, and tactfully went to go make some tea. When he returned to them, River had sat him down on the sofa beside her, and he was drying his eyes on a tissue.

"All right," River said gently, handing him Taylor's tea. "Tell me what's wrong." She looked pointedly at Taylor, who scuttled into the bedroom to give Kevin some space.

It was ages before the door opened, and when it did, Kevin barged through to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. River started looking for blankets and spare pillows, and Taylor followed her into the next room.

"So?" he was bursting with curiosity.

River explained in a low voice as they set up a make shift bed. "I think we can put him up for the night," she said eventually. "The state he's in, I don't want him out on his own."

Taylor rolled his eyes, and River looked questioningly at him. He was about to say, but Kevin came back into the room. River remained practical and told Kevin the plans for breakfast, showed him where the glasses were, and said good night. After that, they left him to it, and got ready for bed.

Taylor was staring at the ceiling when River threw a cushion at him. "What was the rolling of the eyes for earlier?" she demanded, brandishing a toothbrush at him.

"If you mother every teenager under the sun, god knows what you're gonna do with your own child." He told her.

"Oh, what did you want me to do?" River said heatedly, eyes blazing. "Turf the poor kid out in that state? Okay, he's brought it on himself for the most part, but that's no excuse to-" she broke off when he threw a cushion at her instead.

"I don't think you're a wolf," he said, getting up and grabbing his own toothbrush. "I think you're a chicken; a mother hen who clucks and takes all the kids under her wings."

He was brushing his teeth when River made him choke by saying, "You know, I've never heard of a hen taking baby goats under its wings." She said thoughtfully. "I thought baby chicken's were called chicks."

Taylor spat out a mouthful of foam. "Same difference!"

River checked an incoming text message before they turned the lights out. "From his mother," she explained, hitting the call button. "Give me a sec,"

The call was very quick, skirting over the details, and River put the phone down before taking the battery out. "May tomorrow be better than today," she sighed heavily.

Taylor looked her up and down. Then he noticed something. "You've got a bump already."

"I have?" she blinked in surprise, looking down. "Oh. I did wonder a while ago if I was just putting weight on. Guess it's showing."

Since the 'grown up' conversation about Junior, Taylor had quite taken to the idea of being a dad. It was terrifying, but River's vehement refusal to get rid of it had been quite soothing. Now she was being quite blaze about the whole thing, like it wasn't a major, life changing event.

"But Kevin's my main concern right now," she insisted.

"Argh! Babes, you _do_ realise that this," he laid a hand over the barely discernable bump. "Should be higher up your list of priorities right now."

"That's in half a years time," she snapped back. "This is _now_."

They bickered over it for ages until River just passed out due to exhaustion. Taylor sighed, curling up beside her; he knew she was one in a million, and he'd never find anyone else like her. All the same, he wished she would put her own well being first over others.

Kevin may not have realised just how lucky he was to have ally like River.

XOXOX

**I was hoping this would be better than it turned out, but I don't want to procrastinate over it too much. If you guys could drop a review and let me know what you think, that'd be a big help**

**xxx**


	21. Hugs and Kisses

**AN: I was so productive today I scared myself :S I just sort of started writing with the intention of stopping to study and I just sort of forgot xD**

**Forgive the lame ass title; I honestly couldn't come up with anything else that fitted. Guess it gives the game away…BUT, the only alternative was to leave it as 'title' or as something random that had no relevance to the chapter.**

**I want to give a shout out to **A Spoonful Of Lead** who dropped me a message and gave me a massive boost in my confidence xD I owe you the world's biggest virtual cookie! ;)**

**Anyways, do please read and review**

_**Hugs and Kisses**_

It was to the chorus of bird song, the soft fabric of the borrowed blanket, and a pounding headache that Kevin woke up to. It was light out, but he kept his head under the cushion, feigning sleep when he heard movement around him. He heard low voices, but tuned them out, not wanting to face reality just yet; it was easier to wimp out and lie here comatose, not having to think about anything.

The front door swung shut after a lengthy discussion, of which Kevin only understood half; Taylor was tending the horses before going to the market, and River was on strict instruction to not leave the farm until Mel came for her. That made his stomach twist painfully again; River didn't need to sort through his emotional baggage, she had enough going on as it is.

Ten, maybe fifteen minutes passed since Taylor had left, and River came back into the room, and started banging things around on the counter. "Bloody stupid thing…" it sounded like she was attacking an electrical appliance with a wooden spoon, possibly a kettle or something.

Eventually, she stopped, and a heavy silence fell. "I know you're awake," she stated.

Kevin made no move to get up.

"Come on, you have to face the sun sometime, might as well do it now."

He slowly sat up, ignoring the stiffness in his joints and wincing from his headache. River stood over him, holding a steaming cup.

"Herbal tea. For the headache."

Kevin blinked, amazed. "How did you-?"

"Dehydration," she smiled softly. "It's a nasty thing to deal with first thing in the morning,"

He gulped it down, scorching his throat, and waited while River prepared some toast. Again, he snarfed it down when she handed him the plate, and handed it back empty, grateful for her quiet and undemanding presence.

But it wouldn't last; he knew this was coming. River sat down on the arm of the sofa, tugging on the sweatband on her wrist, and staring at the floor in contemplation. Kevin winced, this time from the pain stabbing at his heart rather than his head.

"Okay," she said slowly, not looking at him. "Now that its not the heat of the moment, I want you to listen very carefully and think about what I'm saying." Now she looked up, and Kevin couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze. "Gwen's very upset with you, and you know why. Steph's also upset, and you also know why. You haven't been stopping to think about other people's feelings recently, and this is the result."

Kevin wasn't quite sure if he preferred Steph screaming in his face or not; it was the calm tone that scared him witless, more than anything else…except Gwen's tear streaked face.

"Now I kept you here last night because I was worried what you might do if you were left on your own. I'm not trying to be over bearing here, but a friend of mine went through a similar situation a few years back. He got himself drunk and committed suicide that same evening, and God help me I won't let that happen again."

That was rather shocking in itself, but Kevin was used to the catalogue of friends River kept.

"I can't fix this for you," she said seriously, eyes bright, though not quite blue. "I can help you fit the pieces together, but you've got to mend this by yourself. I'm not going to lie to you, you've been quite idiotic, but I have faith in you. You can set things right, and I want you to know that no matter what, I'll always be here."

It was those last few sentences that set Kevin off again. She had _faith_ in him, faith he didn't deserve in the slightest; and she statement of always being there…it struck a chord with what Gwen he told him, the night of the DNAlien invasion, the night he had first kissed her…

Whether River was using her freaky soul reading powers, or if she was just really good at reading body language, when Kevin finally looked her in the eye, he could see she knew she had hit the right nerve in him. Embarrassing as it was to admit such weakness, Kevin started crying all over again.

River gave him a hug, and he clung to her for support. The slightly rough fabric of her shirt scraped against his cheek, and he breathed in the scent of her skin. It was something that reminded him of the beach; like sea salt, and a woodsy smell like the forest. It echoed something deep in his mind, but he couldn't find what.

All he knew was that she was the one person lending him any sort of support at the moment, and he was grateful for her understanding and concern for his well being, even when he blatantly didn't deserve it.

Eventually, Kevin pushed away from her, and wiped his eyes on the back of his hand.

"Mel will be here in a bit to pick me up," River said, being practical, sounding as though she hadn't just had an over emotional teenaged boy sobbing his heart out on her shoulder. "You're welcome to hang round here for the day, but I won't be back until about two. You'll be all right?"

"Yeah," he croaked before clearing his throat.

"Kevin,"

He reluctantly looked her in the face.

"You're a good person, and I can see that. Gwen can see it, heck, we all can. I think even Cain can see it, and he resents you for it. He takes his frustration out on you because he's lacking in what you have so much of. You're not perfect by any means, but neither am I. I've done things I'm not proud of in my time, and I've hurt people too. But what's makes me a good person is that I'm willing to make the effort to mend things, and most people will recognise that. I'm sure if you give Gwen a little time to cool off she'll be willing to listen to you."

Kevin was speechless; all he could do was nod dumbly. River gave him a quick hug before bustling off to tidy up. He took a quick shower before diligently folding the blankets on the sofa into a pile. It almost made him laugh when he looked more closely at the pattern; one had a trail of bear paws marching around the edges with a complicated stylised bear in the middle, all in warm browns. The other was a deep blue, with two purple and yellow hummingbirds dyed around a flowered motif. He should have known River would stock only the finest in Native American art, but it made him curious, despite his melancholy.

"River?"

"Hmm?" she looked up from untying the mass of knots on her sneakers.

"Why do you only seem to have stuff with this on it?" he held up the brown blanket.

She laughed. "I'm in with the street vendors on the Rez. I help out with odd jobs and stuff, and they give me all this in return. That one," she pointed at the bear, "is one I was going to give my godson next time I go to England. Bear's are nurturers, plus he thinks they're cool. That blue one's been floating around for ages; I _love_ hummingbirds, they're brilliant. I keep that one cause I reminds me of Taylor's sister Chrissie, she's a real sweetheart."

Only one fact sunk into Kevin's mind. "You're a godmother?"

"Yeah, to a boy called Eddie. His father worked with my dad back before they both retired. My dad was the Plumber Liaison for the Royal Navy, and Eddie's was sanctioned with the Whale Island Base in Portsmouth before he got bored and quit. I remember when he was just a bump; I used to help look after the two girls, and I just sort of ended up being his godmother." She shrugged. "He has a less than impressive nickname for me…"

"What's that?"

"I'm the 'Hairy Fairy Godmother'." River pulled a face. "I have no idea where that came from…"

Kevin laughed.

"He's a sweet kid…_most_ of the time. The rat bag…"

Kevin cocked his head to one side, wondering. "Why do you always get so involved looking after other people? You've done all those weird studies, you baby sit for half the town, and you're stuck with us."

River pulled a thoughtful yet comical face. "You know, sometimes it feels like I never chose to do any of those things. It's more like the role just happened to be there when I was and I just sort of fell into it…if that makes any sort of sense, and judging by the look on your face it doesn't."

A horn blared somewhere outside.

"Ah, Melanie's arrived." River finished lacing her shoes up. "You need a lift anywhere?"

"My car's out the back."

"Okay. You'll be all right now?"

"Yeah, fine." He said shortly.

River was about to depart, when Kevin hugged her again impulsively.

"Thanks," he murmured.

"Any time," she gave him a comforting squeeze. "Swing by later with your sheet music, I want to have a look," she grinned at him as she walked over the threshold. She paused briefly to say, "I know you'll do the right thing,"

And she was gone.

XOXOX

The days dragged by until the weekend arrived again, and Gwen was still in a state of turmoil. After Kevin had left Steph's house, she hadn't seen him; it was at once a blessing and a curse.

On the one hand, she didn't have to deal with his stupid remarks, which was a huge plus. And on the other hand…her heart felt like it was slowly being torn into little shreds because he hadn't bothered to make any contact.

She hated not hearing from him; he could have called, texted, emailed, even facebooked her, but he didn't! But she knew that if he did she would have been angry at him for not coming to speak face to face. And yet, if she saw him again, she would probably either break down in tears or slap him.

It was a stalemate in her own mind, with her emotions lining up on all sides and pulling her back and forth; angry, sad, forgiving…there were so many different ways she could go, but she couldn't decide which path to follow. Get angry and say she never wanted to see him again? Get all tearful and give him the guilt trip? Kiss him and forget the whole thing? It wasn't that simple.

Her parents picked up on her sudden mood change. While her mother was supportive but kept a respectful distance when Gwen asked her to drop the subject, Dad was another story. He knew none of the details, only that it was a major fallout with Kevin; he seemed rather pleased that they were not speaking to each other. Gwen wasn't sure if she should side with her father or not on this one, because he did have a point…

All the same, her heart ached each time it beat. It was almost like Bella in Twilight, although Gwen refused to shut down completely like that. She kept going, putting on a brave face at school and with her friends, while crying herself to sleep at night.

In her anger, the first night when she got home Gwen had taken the hyacinth pot plant Kevin had bought her – years ago it seemed – into the rubbish outside before storming back to her room. Laying awake at three in the morning, she had snuck back outside and retrieved it, whispering a few spells to it to mend the damaged stems.

This constant tug-of-war was taking a toll on Gwen, but she could escape it for a few hours when she hung out with Mikey. Ben and Steph had been clambering to help out, but he'd pushed them away, and taken matters into his own hands. Mikey used different things to distract Gwen, like teaching her how to do an Ollie on a skateboard, showing her a few simple tunes on the piano, or insisting that he take her and Julie shopping one evening.

There were no hidden agendas with Mikey; he wasn't trying to score on the rebound or anything like that. He was purely and simply a concerned friend who was looking out for her. He'd told her that she didn't have to talk about it, but if she wanted to, he was all ears.

Their relationship quickly developed into that of best friends, though it was nothing like having a boyfriend or anything. She valued him as a friend, and nothing more, and he felt the same way. Besides, Gwen wasn't sure at this point if she should replace Kevin in her life, although at times it felt like she could (feeling tempted to go and find that Adrian guy again) and at others she couldn't.

Kevin meant the world to her. It was as simple as that.

As much as she was angry and upset, she couldn't let go. It felt right, standing by his side, or wrapped up in his arms… This just felt wrong, not being with him.

River had dropped by to see how she was doing, but beyond that, she hadn't interfered, for which Gwen was grateful. She didn't want another person fussing over her, because Ben and Steph were becoming insufferable.

Friday evening, Gwen was sitting in the living room of her house, laptop balanced on her knees while she half watched a quiz show on TV with her dad. She had been perusing the photos on Facebook, the majority of which she had seen were the ones River had gone on about of South Africa.

Everyone in the pictures had been larking around, and generally having a good time. It was a friend of a friend's album, so she couldn't comment on any, but she read the ones left by other people, and they made her laugh. The best one had to be of River, Miley, and a couple of unfamiliar guys, all seated on an elephant that was being guided by a man in a ranger's uniform and the biggest afro Gwen had ever seen. River looked like she was going to die from excitement, the guy with dreadlocks was holding Miley, who looked like she was about to faint, and the ash blonde guy behind River looked mildly interested by the whole thing.

Her phone started ringing, and she absentmindedly picked it up, checking the caller ID first. It was Mikey, so she took the call.

"_Wassup?_" he practically shouted down the phone.

"Looking at pictures on Facebook. River in Africa's hilarious,"

"_Seen it before,_" he said dismissively. "_It's funny the first time, but then you hear her go on and on and on about Jo'burg and then it just gets depressing. Anyway, I called cause a little birdie_," (he coughed something that sounded suspiciously like 'Ben!' "_Told me that you used to go riding_."

"You mean horse back riding?" she asked dubiously, checking the home feed. Apparently Ben had eaten a tomato, a useless update that Steph was ripping into little pieces bit by bit.

"_Same difference! But yeah. I used to as well, but I haven't got round to it since we invaded Bellwood. River said the farmer's happy to let us ride their horses as long as we do all the cleaning, tidying up, mucking out, etcetera. You up for it?_"

Gwen hadn't been riding in years; it would be great to get back in the saddle. "Okay, sure! Sounds like fun,"

"_Great! So, you free tomorrow?_"

"Yeah,"

"_Right, so I'll pick you up early and we can go down together. You know, get chores and stuff done. How early's too early for you?_"

"Well, if we say leave my house at seven, get there for about quarter to eight, do chores, and then get them out around…" she mentally tallied the minutes up for chores.

"_Say…an hour for chores and tacking up? Then we'll have about until midday for ridding before packing up and clearing off. Sound fair?_"

"Yeah, totally," Gwen couldn't help but grin.

"Ex_cellent!_" Mikey enthused. "_Seven o'clock it is. I'd better go get my beauty sleep. Wouldn't want to scare the horses now!_"

Gwen laughed and said goodnight before hanging up. She told her dad her plans for the next day, and he smiled, happy that she wasn't so glum.

An early night was in order, so she went to bed not long afterwards. It felt like a seamless continuation of time from the moment her head hit the pillow to the moment her alarm clock blared at her. She had given herself half an hour to get ready before Mikey would arrive, so Gwen busied herself with digging out her old riding boots and helmet, shoving them into a bulky rucksack before wolfing down some breakfast. She also stocked up on bottled water for both of them, since Mikey had texted her before she had gone to bed saying he'd bring some snacks.

At five to seven, there was a knock at the door, and Gwen opened it to find Mikey standing there, in full biker gear with the Goofy helmet tucked under his arm. "Sorry, but I haven't got any other vehicle," he smiled apologetically.

Facing up to her doom, Gwen donned the heavy jacket and bulky helmet, slinging her rucksack over her shoulders and settling behind Mikey on the bike, once again terrified for her life. It was a bit easier than the first time, but she still felt certain they were going to slip under a car or crash into a brick wall or a tree or _something_.

At the farm, they pulled up alongside the truck and land rover, and dumped their things into the truck bed. It was already light out, and the horses were awake; chores hadn't been done because River had told the farmer that they were coming, and that they would deal with them in exchange for riding. Since she would suffer the consequences, Mikey and Gwen were determined to get things right.

Firstly, they moved the three horses into the paddock outside so they could muck out. Gwen remembered this from when she used to ride at the local stables before they closed down. It was smelly work, but it paid off in the end when they could ride. After the stalls were squeaky clean, Gwen brought the horses in one by one to groom them while Mikey laid down beds of straw and sorted out feed and water.

They were all three of them very fine looking horses; a bay called Luna because of the crescent shaped mark on her forehead, a chestnut called Jelly-tot, and a black gelding with a white mane and tail called Tybalt. She brushed them all down in turn, before loosing them back outside. Mikey had called shotgun on Luna, and Gwen was quite drawn to Tybalt, so they dealt with Jelly-tot first before sealing her away in the paddock and tending to the others.

The radio played a cheerful song, Mikey whistled as he brought out tack, and Gwen hummed to herself as she brushed down Tybalt. He was a handsome creature, but very mischievous; he overturned a bucket of feed which needed clearing up, got Mikey soaked when he gave a playful buck and made him drop a bucket of water, and got his tail into a horrible snarl while Gwen was grooming him. Sighing, she went into the aisle to get a proper comb, and stopped dead in her tracks.

Kevin was standing in the doorway leading to the yard.

Gwen's reflexes kicked in, and she swung round, retreating into the stall with Tybalt. He raised his head and flicked his ears enquiringly; she laid a hand on his neck to steady herself.

"Hey, Gwen! You almost done yet? I need you to- oh, err, hi Kevin." Mikey halted in his tracks.

"I want to talk to Gwen." Kevin said earnestly.

Gwen's heart was thumping in her chest. Was she really ready to face this problem? Or should she wimp out?

"Um, let me just go talk to her," Mikey scuttled into sight in the stall and said, "Could Kevin have a word?" his goofy grin was gone, replaced with a serious and grown up expression.

"No," Gwen surprised herself when her anger kicked in. "I don't want to, tell him to go away." Now her head was ruling her heart; she wasn't going to let Kevin have the satisfaction of knowing just how much she relied on him.

Gwen burst into the aisle, intending to put on an uncaring and flippant show, but she saw the look on Kevin's face as she reached for a comb, and her sudden resolve to act all blaze and bitchy crumbled to dust. He looked gaunt, and unhappy…like he was suffering as much inside as her, but he was worse at hiding it.

"Please," he said, barely above a whisper, raw with emotion. "I just want to talk to you for a moment."

Gwen poised on the spot, weighing up the conflicting thoughts in her mind. Should she scream and throw the comb at him? Somehow, she knew she wouldn't, not when he looked so vulnerably, like one harsh word from her word break him.

Looking from his desperate face to Mikey's concerned one, she made up her mind. "Fine. Five minutes." She thrust the comb into Mikey's hands, spun on her heel, and marched into the tack room at the end of the row.

"I'll tack up then," Mikey mumbled, going into Tybalt's stall.

Kevin followed her into the room, looking around at the hooks and shelves on the walls, laden with horse paraphernalia. His gaze slid back to her as she slammed the door shut, flinching when she rounded on him.

Folding her arms and adopting an aggressive stance, she snapped, "What?"

"I…" he looked down at his hands before continuing. "I've come to apologise. I've been an idiot. I hurt you, after everything you've done for me, and I'm sorry." He took a deep breath, as though to steady himself, before he went on. "I've been a complete jerk to you, and everyone else. I've been thinking about it all week, and I've made my decision. But I wanted to come and apologise first before."

He looked up again, and Gwen's heart nearly gave out. His eyes, even through the ID Mask, were in agony; it wrenched her heart from a new angle, one she hadn't known was possible.

"I think it's for the best if I just leave. I always manage to screw everything up. I thought getting released was my big chance, and I've thrown it away. All I ever do is hurt people, it's the only thing I ever do. But now I've hurt my friends, and I've hurt you. I can't keep going on like this. So I've come to say goodbye."

Kevin could have punched her in the gut, and his words would still have had the same effect. He was leaving them? He couldn't! Gwen's heart was wrenched again, and suddenly she knew beyond a doubt what she wanted.

She wanted him to stay, she wanted to work things out, and above all, she wanted him to know that she'd forgive him. Being faced with his drastic answer to the situation only cemented her feelings for him, despite all the crap he pulled.

"I know Charmcaster tricked me, but I let her, and that's just as bad as going along with her plans of my own free will," he gestured helplessly with his hands. "I said it before, Gwen. You could do so much better than me. You're an amazing person, and I keep screwing up. You deserve so much more than I can give."

Gwen made a fist with her right hand, and pressed her thumb against her forehead, trying to rein in the tears.

"Whatever happens, I just want you to be happy, and I don't want to leave it like this. If you can forgive me, then I'll just go on my way. If not…" he shrugged, trying to pass it off and failing miserably. "I won't blame you." He waited for her response.

Gwen breathed slowly in through her nose and out through her mouth, calming herself down. How could she respond to that little speech without offending him?

Eventually, she managed to choke out, "You really are an idiot."

Kevin just looked at her with down cast eyes, waiting for the blow.

"You…you always do this," again, her anger was being stoked, but it wasn't at him flirting with the enemy or accusing her of cheating on him with Mikey. No, it was very simply his personality this time round. "Doesn't your brain work the same way everyone else's does?" she asked bitterly, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

"Gwen, I-"

"No," she snarled, fists by her side, trembling with the effort of holding herself together. "_You_ listen, you idiot! How do you always manage to do this? Even when you're _trying_ to be all noble and gallant, you're actually being even more selfish than usual!"

He just stood there, staring at her in amazement as she ranted on at him.

"You think that by leaving all the problems will solve themselves? News flash, Kevin, they won't! You can't always run away from your problems like this! And you can't hide from _me_! I'm only ever happy when I'm _with you_! Although you've been shit company for the last few weeks." She raised her hands and pulled at her hair, still loose from when she'd tried to sort out the mess the bike helmet had made. "I don't want you to go! I want you to stay here with us, with _me_! Didn't I tell you before? Didn't I promise I wasn't going anywhere? Didn't I?"

Gwen couldn't see his face for the tears blurring her vision. Still, she wiped them away angrily, unable to hold back the flood.

"Then why the hell are you the one going? This is what really pisses me off about you! Even when you think you're doing the right thing you're still missing the point! Maybe in _your_ messed up version of reality I lied when I told you I loved you, and that I want you to leave and never see you again! But it's not! I still love you, no matter what kind of shit you do; I loved you back then, I love you now, and God help me I'll love you till I die!" she wasn't quite sure why she felt the need to scream this at him, but her body seemed to react of its own accord.

"Gwen-" Kevin tried to put in, stepping towards her. "Look, you're over emotional. When you've calmed down you'll see that-"

It was only after she had slapped him hard across the face she realised what she'd done. They both stared at her smarting hand in astonishment, unable to quite believe she'd really done it.

"Is it really so hard to believe?" she asked in a low voice, sobs threatening to rack her chest. "That I love you? Why won't you believe me?" it was becoming too much for her, the sobs were coming, and she didn't want to break down like this in front of him. Maybe it would just strengthen his resolve, and he'd leave for good, thinking in his stupid head that he was doing right by her. "I promised you…I promised…are you just going to throw it all back in my face?" her voice suddenly shot through several octaves.

Kevin floundered helplessly, unable to speak.

"You-" but it was finally too much.

Gwen broke down completely, sobbing even harder than she had the week before, unable to stop herself. A tentative hand reached out to her, and before she knew it she was clinging to him for dear life.

Even amidst her own pain and his glaring stupidity, it suddenly felt right again. She was in his arms, where she belonged, breathing in his scent: that engine oil and transition fluid smell with a metallic tang to it.

Not that she was as clingy as Bella, but Gwen couldn't bear to let him go.

Like it or not, he held the missing part of her heart, the key to her happiness, and despite how angry she had been, she was glad he was here with her now.

In between her own heaving sobs, she heard him say, "I'm so sorry…"

Gwen wanted to tell him if he really was sorry, than to stop being such an idiot, but she couldn't form a coherent word. Instead, she clung to him even more, trying to fuse them together so he couldn't leave. She felt his hand caressing the back of her head, fingers tangling in her hair; his lips pressing against the crown of her head, his chest jumping sporadically as he tried to squash down his own sobs.

Kevin pulled back slightly, just for a moment, tilting her head up so he could look her in the eyes in earnest. From this angle, his face was silhouetted against the sunlight streaming in through the window above in the wall behind them. His eyes were black in the dim light; like two black holes, drawing her in closer.

Impulsively, before he could come up with some lame ass excuse to run away, Gwen flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. Words had failed her, but she knew how to get the message across; she wanted him still, and she always would. She just needed him to see that.

Her heart leapt when he responded, pulling her closer to him. Then he stopped, going rigid beneath her arms, and pulled away again. Watching closely with baited breath, Gwen observed Kevin hesitate before reaching up and grabbing at his cheek. He plucked the mask from his face, and dropped it unceremoniously onto the dusty floor. Gwen felt the change under her hands; from the unreal sensation of the rough fabric to the smooth hard metal and rough rock of his shoulders.

Surprised, she managed to say, "You sure?" he'd not been happy about the change. He hated how he looked, and she had respected that and let him be comfortable wearing the mask to hide it.

"I want you to love me," he said heavily. "If you can, just the way I am," a ghost of a smirk graced his lips. "Impurities and all."

Gwen gazed up at him in wonder. Then his arms tightened around her waist, bring her forward again, and his lips found hers, and she forgot everything. He hadn't kissed her like this in a long, _long_ time, and it rekindled something deep inside her that wasn't anger or resentment.

Suddenly, her feet were no longer on the ground, and her back was pressed against the wall, leaning against a well-placed table for support. Her legs locked automatically around his waist, and her hands reached up to tug at his hair.

The texture was so intriguing; each strand as fine and flexible as her own, and yet made up of rock or crystal. She marvelled at it as his hands roamed her back, and his tongue traced a pattern across her lower lip before he took it between his teeth, gently teasing her.

Even after all this time dancing around each other tentatively, he could still take her breath away. Gwen sighed as he moved to her throat, nose skimming along the line of her jaw before being replaced by his lips.

Sod's Law, the door opened just then, and Gwen turned to see Mikey standing on the threshold, holding a bridle. Kevin straightened up, but didn't let her go, for which she was grateful, but if looks could kill…poor Mikey wouldn't have stood a chance.

"Erm…" Mikey edged into the room, dropped the bridle before grabbing another one, saying, "Just looking for…another…yeah." He ran from the room without another word.

Gwen felt a growl rise in Kevin's chest, but she found didn't mind as much as she thought she would. Instead, she laid her head against his shoulder, lowering her legs so that her ankles were crossed behind his knees, and closed her eyes. It took a moment, but she felt him relax, and held her close. There was an odd sensation around her cheek, and her arms come to think of it; Gwen shifted, and felt Kevin's collarbone shift with her. His body was moulding itself around her – quite literally made just for her.

Strange how she hadn't noticed that before.

"If I said I was sorry…" Kevin said slowly. "…Would you punch me?"

"Yes."

"Okay…"

There was a long pause.

"I am most repentant."

"Don't tempt me…" she threatened, not quite able to work the angry tone into her voice anymore.

XOXOX

When they finally mustered themselves to leave the storeroom, Mikey was waiting outside with two of the horses. He grinned at them as they approached, but said nothing about his little interruption earlier.

Instead, he handed the reins of the brown horse to Gwen and climbed into the saddle before holding the reins of the other horse for her to mount. "I set up a few jumps, if you feel like it." He told her riding into the paddock.

Kevin climbed over the fence, and perched there to watch. He'd decided that while Gwen didn't care what he looked like, the farmer – who so far didn't know anything about alien activity in Bellwood – would, so on went the ID Mask.

His mother used to ride; he remembered her saying it was very therapeutic. Even just watching was quite a calming exercise, as Gwen slowly warmed up the horse and started cantering around the field. Mikey was taking a slightly more laid back approach, choosing to trot around leisurely before taking a lazy canter up to one of the jumps.

The black horse seemed to play up from time to time, and at one point Mikey stopped and asked if Gwen wanted to swap for the third horse, Jelly or something random. But she stubbornly refused, and charged at the first jump; naturally, the horse veered off to one side and gave a buck, almost unseating her, but she rode off around the field again while Mikey had another go.

At some point, he must have decided to give the brown horse a rest, because Mikey trotted over to Kevin while Gwen tried the jump again. He grinned at Kevin, patting the horse's neck. "You want a go?"

"I don't ride." He said bluntly.

Mikey shrugged. "Suit yourself." He pulled up next to the fence, and started fiddling with its mane. "You two all right now?" he asked guilelessly.

"Yeah," Kevin was watching Gwen charge at the jump, and this time they sailed over it, landing heavily before bending their steps at the next one. It was a real shame her hair was stuffed into a messy bun beneath her helmet…

"Can I just say," Mikey was wearing a pair of gloves, which he pulled off and started inspecting closely. "Gwen's my friend, and that's it. I didn't bring her up here to score on the rebound or some shit. I'm not like that." His tone wasn't accusatory, or pointed; it was just a simple statement of fact.

"Yeah." Kevin said again, feeling the inadequacy of his vocabulary. "Thanks," he added. "For looking out for her."

"No prob," Mikey gave him the thumbs up, and they went back to watching Gwen.

The horse lurched away from a few more jumps, but she seemed to be having fun. Indeed, it looked as though the horse was bucking just for the fun of it, and she kept on somehow, and laughed each time it did something unexpected.

"That horse looks a bitch to handle." Mikey remarked. "I don't know how she hasn't been thrown yet. Wonder if it's the rescue horse River talked about…"

Kevin looked at him questioningly.

"She mentioned in passing one of the horses the farmer keeps was a rescue. Something like…it was gonna be a race horse but the stable boy kept threatening it with a pitchfork when he tried to muck out, so it's afraid of Italian accents."

Kevin snorted. "What?"

Mikey pulled a face. "I dunno, I wasn't paying attention. But he's a real handful, just watch,"

It was on course, straight down the dead centre of the top bar, and Gwen was relaxed in her seat. _Just_ at the last moment, the horse swung round on its hind legs, veering sharply to the right, and bucked. Kevin watched her sail from the saddle and to the ground in one fluid movement, before bouncing back up at an awkward angle and landing splayed across the grass.

"Gwen!"

"Shit!" Mikey kicked his mount and hurried over to her, but Kevin still beat him there.

She was lying on her back, staring at the sky, completely dazed. Kevin grabbed at her, heart pounding painfully in his throat. "You okay?"

Gwen nodded, but before she could say anything Mikey jumped down from his horse and shoved Kevin unceremoniously out of the way. "Sit up," he pulled her into a sitting position and started doing weird tests, like checking she could tell how many fingers he held up and making her follow his finger with her eyes to make sure she was in focus.

"You're all right," he said confidently; turning to watch the black horse as it trotted over, head low to the ground. "Take five. And possibly tack up Jelly-tot. Tybalt's a bit too frisky to ride."

Kevin tried to contain the snort of humour that arose at Mikey's choice of words. Gwen ignored him, getting up, dusting herself off, and attempting to get back in the saddle.

"Hey!" Mikey grabbed her around the waist and heaved her off the horse, despite her protests.

"Mikey! Let _go_! What are you-?"

"Hat," he yanked her helmet off and thrust it into her hands. "Go get a spare one from the tack room. How dare you disregard health and safety rules!"

She glowered at him before stalking off to the stables. Mikey turned back to Tybalt, but the horse jumped out of his way, snatching the reins out of his grasping range. "Bloody stupid horse…" he snarled.

Kevin was practically wetting himself with laughter when Gwen came back with a bright purple helmet; such was Mikey's plight. After getting a face full of mud three times in a row, he slouched off to fetch the brown horse, muttering under his breath about going Lupus on its ass and seeing how _he_ liked it. Gwen giggled, and trailed after him with a smirk on her face.

And so all the pieces had fallen into place; Kevin was feeling better than he had in a long time. He was laughing freely at Mikey, who was just about to give up after half an hour of trying to get the horse to come back, when River pitched up with a grin.

"Hi!"

"Hey River," Gwen waved at her, hanging onto Mikey's horse. "How's it going?"

"Slowly," she admitted, leaning against the woodwork beside Kevin. "Preparing questions for the psycho test, absolutely riveting stuff." They laughed, but River was busy watching Mikey. "What the hell is _he_ doing?"

"Tybalt's being a pain," Gwen explained. "He was doing okay until he threw me at a jump, now Mikey's banned me from riding until he's under control.

"Bloody idiot's going about it the wrong way," River said condescendingly. "Hey! Mikester! Come here, I'll show you something." She gingerly climbed over the fence and set off towards the troublesome horse.

Mikey thrust the length of rope into her hands in disgust. "_You_ do it then," he snarled.

Calmly River approached the horse, sideways on and with her knees bent so she appeared smaller and less threatening. It ignored her, but just as she raised her hands, it pulled away and cantered off to the other end of the field. Mikey threw himself against the fence and huffed loudly. "What can _she_ do?" he demanded.

"More the you, apparently," Kevin said smugly.

Gwen reached out and slapped him.

"Ouch!"

"Oh, come on! That didn't hurt,"

"Why are you beating me up?" he whined.

"Ssh!" Mikey waved a hand at them. "Watch this, she's gonna get a face full of mud."

River was slowly getting closer, and Kevin saw the sudden weariness in the horse's posture. Then she did the most unexpected thing: River dropped onto her hands and knees, and started crawling away towards the gate. Tybalt tossed his head, pausing in his wonder before slowly following her. It was the strangest thing among many things that Kevin had seen her do so far, but apparently it worked. She got the horse to follow her to the fence, where she stopped, and curled into a ball. Tybalt lowered his head and nudged her inquisitively; River unfurled, and rolled onto her back, letting him bend his head down to investigate. She slowly raised her hands and stroked its long nose, before looping the rope out from under her sleeve and clipping it to the bridle.

Slowly, River stood up, and led the horse back over to them placidly, covered in grass stains. "You see? _That's_ how the pros to it," she bragged, patting Tybalt's neck.

"No way," Mikey shook his head. "I refuse to believe that!"

Gwen laughed. "That's amazing! Where did you learn that?"

"Some guy," River smiled at her. "I knew someone who owned a stud farm in Devonshire. I spent a whole summer with the horses, and his son taught me this trick. It works well on trouble horses like this one," she rubbed between his eyes. "Ain't that right you rascal?"

"He's a trouble maker all right," Mikey said with narrowed eyes. "He nearly broke Gwen's neck."

"I'm fine," she retorted in a flat tone.

"He's a sweet one," River admitted. As if in response, the horse raised his head and snuffled at her neck. Then it did something really weird; it looked like it was trying to kiss her cheek, its lips flapping all over the place. She patted his neck, gently pushing his head away, and he calmly conceded. River gave the horse a hug, saying, "But he is a bit of a troublemaker, not gonna lie…"

Mikey stalked off with the other horse in disgust, whether directed at Tybalt or River was anyone's guess. She followed at a sedate pace, towing the now calm Tybalt with her. "Like someone else we know and love," she added.

Kevin looked up, surprised, and saw her wink at him over her shoulder. He looked down to see Gwen gazing up at him, smiling. Unable to resist it, he wrapped his arms around her, briefly lifting her into the air and kissing her cheek. Somehow, despite his stupidity, he'd managed to turn things around, and do the right thing.

Damn that woman for always being right.

XOXOX

**For anyone whose interested, I got River's trick from a friend of mine who helps her parents looks after rescued horses, and I watched her do the same thing with this evil demon horse and it worked xD I don't know if it was just that horse in particular or if she's the next horse whisperer or something…it charged at me and I ran away screaming (which probably spooked it even more to be honest… xD)**

**Turned out a bit longer than I anticipated, but don't think it was **_**too**_** bad xD**

**I may not be able to update for a while cause my grandmother's in hospital and fanfiction kinda got bumped way down on my list of priorities :S when things calm down I'll start writing again, but till then you won't be hearing much from me**

**Till next time! (whenever that may be….)**

**xxx**


	22. On The Mend

**AN: this kinda took so long to be posted because I couldn't think of a title xD**

**I wrote it piece meal, so it might be a bit disjointed. Also, I was going over messages that have been loafing around in my inbox for ages, and I found a request from a while back for Kevin to sing a Relient K song. I can't access the Internet right now (as in while I'm writing this xD cause my wireless dropped out and I broke my only working patch cable) so I can't remember who it was, but I'm sure they do ;) been waiting for the opportune moment, and it finally arose! :)**

**And since Kevin has stopped being a jerk (admittedly that was mostly my fault…..:S) we can proceed with the fluff! :D**

_**On The Mend**_

Kevin had made peace with Gwen, Mikey, and now Ben too. He'd sat glowering in his armchair until Kevin had explained himself, and then surprised everyone by getting up and hugging him – before punching him playfully in the gut and cheerfully promising to beat him to a pulp if he ever did it again. The whole effect was ruined by the grin on his face.

Ben was just happy to have Kevin back again – not the _old_ old Kevin, but the oldish Kevin.

Mikey had proposed meeting Steph on neutral grounds, so they settled on Ben house where any collateral damage would sign their death warrants. Ben nonchalantly called Steph and asked her to come round to discuss 'stuff', and Mikey supplied the smoothies to tide things over.

Kevin didn't want to admit that he was more scared of approaching Steph than he had of Gwen, but he was sure it wasn't far off the mark. Maybe deep down he'd known she wouldn't push him away, but Steph had been angrier than Kevin had ever seen her before, and he wasn't sure he could mend the rift between them so easily. Sure, it hadn't been _that_ easy to make up with Gwen, but even if he had pushed off the scene he knew it would only have been a matter of time before he came back and begged her to forgive him. Plus, _she_ had kissed _him_ first, which had speeded the process up somewhat.

Steph wouldn't appreciate such a show of affection. After she'd get over the gross factor of the situation, she really would gut him like a fish.

Also, Kevin cringed at the thought kissing Steph. Just…_eww_. It'd be like making out with him mom or his sister, and that was just wrong on so many levels.

He was pulled from his reverie when Ben entered then room and said, "She's here."

Mikey stood up from his perch on the armchair in the corner, putting his drink down.

"What are you doing?" Gwen asked from Kevin's side.

"Backup," he said unashamedly. "If she stands there," he pointed at the doorway. "And starts getting violent, I can spring on her. There's a pressure point on the Avis body, _just_ here," he demonstrated on his own neck, "that'll knock her out."

Mikey's backup plan wasn't installing Kevin with a great deal of confidence.

"Just in case, of course," he added, seeing Kevin's distress. "I doubt she'll actually physically assault you or anything, it's just that she might-"

"Mikey, shut up." Gwen snapped.

"Yeah okay," he sat down again, studying the wall.

The front door opened and slammed shut, and they could hear voices. Ben led the way into the room before veering off to one side to let Steph in. It took her a few seconds to spot Kevin on the sofa and appraise the situation before she scowled.

At least she was acting as he had predicted, rather then surprising him. Kevin might be able to apologise and remain in one piece at this rate.

"Whatever it is," Steph said, addressing the wall to her right. "Make it quick. I've got a space ship waiting outside."

Kevin jumped to his feet, but he didn't approach her; his nerves were failing him.

"Steph,"

She grudgingly deigned to look at him.

"Look…I know I've been a jerk and-"

"Yeah, you have." She spat at him.

Kevin hesitated before continuing. "I wanna apologise."

Steph folded her arms over her chest and shifted her weight onto her back leg. Still an aggressive stance, but not one that she could easily attack from, which was somewhat comforting.

"There's been no excuse for the way I've been treating you guys lately, and I'm sorry…" he couldn't think of anything else to say, so he waited for the blow to come.

Steph was frowning now, watching his every move intently. "You're a right git, you know that?"

"Yeah."

"And I see you managed to win this lot over," she shot at him accusingly.

"To be fair," Mikey piped up. "It was of our own free will."

"No one asked you," Steph used a rather rude word that made him roll his eyes dramatically. "Anyway," Steph turned back to Kevin, and for a moment he thought he could see a spark of mischief in her eyes, though he couldn't be sure. "What makes you think that just cause these dweebs accepted your apology that I'm gonna as well?"

"I don't," Kevin shot back, his temper suddenly getting the better of him. "I don't expect anything from you." Oh God she was going to kill him…

"Then why the hell are you still here?" Steph's stance shifted forward, and Kevin became wary of pissing her off even more.

"Cause I want to _at least_ try and say sorry. Life was shit before you guys showed up, and I didn't really appreciate what I had until I almost lost it!"

He felt a small, warm hand wrap around his closed fist. Without even thinking about it Kevin took Gwen's hand, and she gave his a comforting squeeze.

"I'm not gonna force you to forgive me, but you won't anyway if I sit round doin' nothing. So that's why I'm here."

The tension was mounting; Kevin could see Mikey poised on the brink of springing at Steph if she decided to get physical about the situation.

"So what do you want _me_ to do?" Steph challenged, clenching her fists.

"Easy Steph," Ben said worriedly. "My mom will kill us if we wreck the house."

"Cannit, Ben," she snarled over her shoulder.

"Well I'm not getting down on my knees and begging," Kevin snapped.

For a moment, Kevin thought she was going to fly off the handle and punch him. Steph leant forward a fraction of an inch before pulling back and standing up straight, face completely blank.

"You're such a retarded douche bag."

Kevin would have loved to slap her for that remark, but he was trying his best to not antagonize the situation.

Steph surprised him when she leapt forwards and flung her arms around him, squeezing so tight that he couldn't breath. "But I guess you're my retarded douche bag mechanic buddy,"

Kevin was stunned. This was _not _the way he had envisioned Steph forgiving him.

Then she let go and punched him in the gut.

Yup, _that_ was how he had envisioned it.

"I gotta go, my dad's waiting for me," she gave him an almighty shove so he fell over backwards onto the sofa before dashing to the door. "Smell ya later!"

"Hey!" Mikey pounced after her, indignant on Kevin's behalf. "You could at least give him the curtsey of an _answer_, bird breath!"

Steph stuck her head round the door with an evil smirk. "Wwwell, I'll have to _think_ about it," she grinned wickedly before disappearing again. "I really do have to go!"

Gwen sat down beside Kevin, rolling her eyes, and Mikey slunk over, glowering at the door. "I think it's safe to say," he picked imaginary dust from his shirt, "that that's a definite maybe."

XOXOX

As it transpired, when Steph got back five days later, she had already decided to forgive him, but she couldn't resist winding Kevin up.

So life was good again. Even better, as a matter of fact.

Next time everyone was convened at the workshop Kevin turned up late because he had over slept. When he finally arrived, everyone was already settled into something; Mikey was teaching Ben to juggle, Miley and Lea went tending to what looked like a bike engine, and Gwen was sitting with Steph and River at the table filling out a form.

They looked up as he came in, and Steph pulled a face. Gwen smiled at him, and River continued to glower at the paper before her.

"Psychoanalytical forms," Steph muttered when Kevin opened his mouth to ask.

"Bloody waste of time but _hey_," River shuffled through until she found a clean sheet. "Please fill out in your own time and try to be as honest as possible I don't want any demand characteristics screwing this up."

"What's it for?" Kevin scanned the top three questions. Ugh, _great_; another load of these…he _hated_ personality profile questionnaires.

"Records, mostly. They are pretty pointless," River was folding one into a paper aeroplane. "I have to prove I can accurately make judgements about a persons character and act accordingly to suit that persons needs. Most scientists won't accept 'oh I'm a soul reader I don't need to do this crap!' as an excuse."

"I'll just end up filled as a psychopath," Steph moaned, stabbing at her form with a sharp pencil, breaking the fine lead. "Damnit!"

"I'm fairly certain you're not a psychopath," River carefully aimed her aeroplane at Lea and threw it with a quick flick of her wrist.

"But can you be sure of that?" Kevin asked, sitting down beside Gwen.

"How the hell do you tell the difference, anyway?" Steph muttered darkly. "All the psychopathologies are the same…"

"There's a big difference between a sociopath and a psychopath," Mikey put in, dodging around Ben's flailing arms. They still managed to collide, and Ben cursed when Mikey slapped him in the face, complaining loudly that he was a lost cause.

Kevin sighed. He'd been branded a sociopath until he'd be released, then they hadn't known what he was since he didn't display any defining features of any mental illness.

"Common misconception," River was in full psychologist mode. "Sociopaths are incapable of feeling empathy so they have no guilt for their actions. Psychopaths are the same, only they can give the illusion that they do when really they want to sit and watch the world burn and take enjoyment from it. A Sociopath would sit there and go 'meh' because they wouldn't feel an emotion from watching things burn."

"Glad we cleared _that_ up," Steph growled.

"Also, psychopaths have a tendency to keep dead animals in their refrigerators." River added as an after thought.

"Well…yeah, you keep meat and stuff in a refrigerator, right?" Kevin pointed out.

River waved a hand vaguely at him. "Stuff like road kill. Most high profile cases, when investigated further, found all manner of weird and wonderful things in the fridge. Rats, birds and stuff mostly." She grimaced. "Wonderful stuff. Anyways, fill the thing out," she pointed at the form. "And I'll scan it in. All information is private and confidential." She sounded bored, like she'd recited this speech before.

"You sound ecstatic," Mikey said brightly.

"Waste of natural resources," River scowled. "And my time. I could be doing something slightly more helpful instead of office work."

Kevin was thrilled that Gwen was holding his hand and snuggled up against his side, but he wanted to talk to River about guitar music, and he didn't want Gwen to know about it.

"I feel like a sing along," Mikey blurted out after Ben tripped over his own feet trying to retrieve the bouncy balls from under the jeep.

"Guitar's in the truck bed," River said, not looking up from her be-doodled page.

Mikey disappeared and returned with a black guitar case. He dumped it on the floor beside her, and River carefully unzipped it and pulled out a dark blue guitar.

"Woah!" Kevin breathed. "Can I have a look?"

"Sure," she grasped the neck and handed it over.

It was slightly mottled, with a marble effect over the top; the make '_Fender_' was written in fancy letters over the top, above an intricate mother-of-pearl inlaid design. A black band surrounded the sound hole with a similar pattern in white ringing it. There was a little black panel on the side that faced up when you held the guitar to play, and Kevin's eyes widened.

"Is that an in-built tuner?"

River laughed. "Yeah. It was an eighteenth birthday present from my parents. It's so useful! I can always tune it as long as I have a working battery."

"Can I have a go?" Kevin wheedled.

"Yeah, go for it! I haven't had a chance to play yet,"

There was a plain black strap attached to it, which Kevin looped over his head before playing Gmaj to check it was in tune. It was close enough, so he started mindless jamming.

His own guitar had nylon strings; this was a bit harder to play, but the sound it made was amazing. Tentatively, trying to remain nonchalant, Kevin started playing through the chords he had pulled together for the song. Gwen was laying off her homework to watch and listen, which was at once very flattering and nerve racking.

River saved him by requesting _Stair Way To Heaven_ instead. He had to admit he didn't know how it went, and River feigned disgust. "Give me that," she pretended to snatch her guitar back. "Amateur. Watch the pro at work,"

"Oh yeah," Mikey scowled. "Cause you're the pro at _everything_."

"Hells yeah I am!" her Texan accent was so atrocious, it made everyone laugh.

"Hey," Mikey piped up suddenly. "What happened to that sheet music? The one you were working on ages ago?"

"I didn't know you wrote music," Gwen said innocently.

"I don't," Kevin said reflexively.

"But what about-?" Mikey said, looking confused.

Steph chose that moment to dive bomb him, scattering Ben and the balls as she went. She, at least, was still on Kevin's side when it came to music.

"Well that riff you went through just now was very remarkable for being spontaneous," River said rather carelessly. The quick look she shot him told Kevin that she was impressed with his music so far. "You might want to revise certain chord patterns though." She added in a well-disguised hint.

"Well," Miley was wiping oil from her hands and eyeing up River's hipflask. "I've fixed my engine, so I'm going to go down to the open market. Wanna come with?"

"Maybe later, I'm having a bout of vertigo today and I'm not going anywhere near your bike." River said adamantly.

"Suit yourself," she shrugged. "I'll tell Taylor you said hi,"

"You do that," River stabbed at her piece of paper.

Steph looked over her shoulder innocently, and blurted out, "That's the most bloated looking whale I have ever seen."

"It's a killer whale," River said, bored.

"It's bloated, that's what it is."

"Shoo,"

"Going!" Steph capered over to the doorway. "Who wants fish and chips?"

Mikey rushed her, flinging his arms around her waist and yelling, "ME!"

Only when Lea threw a socket wrench at them and shouted, "Be gone, foul demons!" did Steph, Mikey and Ben leave.

"Gordon Bennet," River groaned into the silence. "I thought we'd never get rid of them!"

"Miley left by the way," he pointed out.

"Oh, I didn't notice," River pulled a face. "Oops…"

"Very unobservant today," Kevin teased.

River took up her guitar with a shrug. "Meh. I've had worse days. Like writing these stupid forms…"

Kevin deflated in his seat, and considered just letting his head fall forward and hit the table.

He hated psychological testing as a rule…

"Kevin?"

He opened his eyes and looked down at Gwen. "Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah…"

"You seem less than impressed by this bullshit," Lea took up a handful of papers and brandished them in River's face. "You call that work?"

"I call it a waste of time. It's not even that effective! It doesn't take into account individual differences, the fact that people could be lying…"

"Bullshit," Lea nodded to himself.

"And I don't want to have to yell and scream at you for using bad language. We're here to set an example,"

"You swear too," Kevin put in, unable to resist winding her up.

"I'm pregnant and hormonal, what's your excuse?" she shot back, eyes flashing blue for a moment.

Kevin would have been alarmed were it not for the grin on her face. He was about to make another witty comment but Gwen started laughing at him.

"Aw, what'd I do now?"

"You two could be related to way you go on at each other," she giggled.

"It's like having a little brother again," River sighed contentedly. "Only without the urge to slap him."

"I could change that," Kevin threatened.

"Don't tempt me," she smiled sweetly.

"Oh, shut up!" Lea snapped.

"Speak for yourself,"

They started bickering, and Kevin made a point of ignoring them. Still, Gwen managed to see through his façade and started poking him for an answer.

Eventually, he conceded by saying, "I don't like personality profiling."

Gwen looked as though she wanted to know more, but wasn't sure what to say. It was a relief when River drove Lea from the workshop in disgust; if Gwen was going to wrestle any information from him, he'd rather it without Lea around.

"The _douche_ bag…" she muttered, striking a menacing chord.

Lea slunk back inside, insisting he needed to look at his engine again. They started arguing again; it was a good-natured argument, like the ones Kevin had with Steph, only it involved more insults and less hitting each other. It was kinda wearing though…this must be how Gwen felt when Kevin and Steph fought.

Eventually, Gwen turned round and said, "Wanna go get some air?" giving him a meaningful look.

"Sure," Kevin left the form on the table, and River didn't say anything.

Instead, she said, "See you guys later,"

"Not if they see you first!" Lea cackled.

"Oh go to hell you stupid-!"

Kevin didn't catch the rest as he and Gwen left the workshop. He was running on autopilot when he got in his car and gunned the engines.

"Where do you wanna go?" he asked, pulling away from the curb.

Gwen shrugged. "Somewhere. Don't really care."

It was just like old times; driving for the sake of it, never knowing where you'd end up. Kevin found himself in the parking lot for the park after half an hour of roving around aimlessly. It seemed as good as any place to stop, and even better because no one else seemed to be around.

XOXOX

It was clear from the look on his face that he hadn't thought this through at all; Kevin killed the engine and got out, only to sit down on the bonnet of the car and gaze off into the distance.

Gwen suppressed a laugh, and followed him. Instead of sitting she folded her arms and stared at him until he looked up at her, frowning.

"What?"

"Nothing." She spotted the guy who usually trailed around the park selling hotdogs, and reached for her handbag. "I'll be right back,"

Kevin didn't protest, or make a move to follow her. When she came back he was lying flat on his back, eyes closed and plugged into his ipod. She nudged his leg with her knee and he opened one eye to look at her; she held out a hotdog, taking a bite from the other one. He accepted it and proceeded to stuff his face without further comment.

"Nice," Gwen remarked, perching on the edge of the hood, eating more daintily. She had her back turned to him, so when he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him she squeaked with surprise. "Hey!"

Gwen was now lying on his chest, facing the sky. Kevin grabbed her waist and lifted her into the air, spinning her around and setting her down again so she was lying splayed across his chest. She looked up at him, momentarily dazed before propping herself up on her elbows and glaring at him.

"Do I look like a horse?" he asked innocently.

She slapped him, but she couldn't work to keep her anger when he threw his head back and laughed. It had been a long time since she had heard such a genuine laugh from him, and her lips curled up into a wide smile. Kevin grinned up at her in response, sunlight glance off his eyes and dyeing them with warm streaks of brown.

Unbidden, a thought floated to the forefront of her mind, and it must have shown on her face because Kevin frowned. He raised a hand and rubbed his thumb between her eyes. "Wassup?"

"You…" she wasn't sure what to say, especially when her attention was take up by his free hand tracing patterns on her back. "…Weren't really happy with the profile paper…"

Kevin's gaze was fixed on a point somewhere above her shoulder, his earphones hanging around his neck, forgotten. Gwen laid her head against his collarbone, taking one earpiece and placing it inside her ear, hoping to ease his discomfort. She could remember the first time he'd spoken about his home life to her, how he'd stared at the wall and addressed the peeling paint rather than her; an indirect approach was the best way to wheedle something out of Kevin.

Some unfamiliar music was playing, with possibly a bit too much screaming in the background for her taste, but Kevin relaxed and his hand came to rest on the small of her back.

"I don't like being shoved in a box." He muttered.

"What do you mean?" she asked lazily, watching a bird flit from branch to branch of a nearby tree from under the arch of his throat.

It was a while before Kevin said anything. "…Got branded as psychotic. Started calming down, and said I was a sociopath. When I stopped being a pain," – Gwen snorted and he poked her in the ribs – "they tested me again and said they didn't know what I was. I hate psychologists."

Gwen sat up to look him in the eye, and he met her gaze unflinchingly. "You like River, don't you?" it was only a couple of weeks ago they'd been sat round the table reciting the entire script for all three Austin Powers Movies like they'd been friends their whole lives.

"Yeah," Kevin retorted, on the defensive. "But I'm mature now." Gwen couldn't help herself from laughing, and squeaked when he prodded her again. "I was giving her the benefit of the doubt. I got nothing against River." He huffed, clearly offended. "I just hate having someone look at me and tick the boxes. I never fit into any stupid psycho category."

"So…what you're saying is, that you don't fit in any box?"

"Exactly!" he looked thoroughly annoyed, choosing to watch a wispy cloud directly above them.

Gwen kissed his cheek, before settling on his shoulder again. "Maybe that's because you don't belong in a box."

XOXOX

Ben watched Mikey and Steph amble along the path in front of him. They'd decided to ditch the others and go to the park to mess around; River (according to Mikey who had it from Miley and Mel) was starting to head towards the temperamental stage, and Mikey didn't want to get involved in any ensuing arguments; and also he pointed out that Kevin and Gwen still needed time to mend the gap between them.

They'd already eaten, and Steph was running away from Mikey's attempts to get her smoothie. Ben had to admit, he was slightly resentful to Mikey for taking Steph's full and undivided attention, but he supposed they'd been friends for years, and they had to make up for lost bothering time.

Still, Ben considered ditching them to go find Julie, who would be training right about now. He made up his mind when Steph swung herself up into a tree and Mikey scuttled up the trunk after her, cursing in a variety of alien languages (Ben was getting better at distinguishing Earth bound dialects from space ones).

Not even bothering to let them know where he'd gone, Ben walked merrily on, sipping his own smoothie and trying not to think about the pile of physics homework sitting on his desk at home. He rounded a corner, crumpling his empty cup into a ball and throwing it in the trashcan, when he saw a dash of green from the corner of his eye; the back of Kevin's car.

Without even thinking about it, Ben meandered over to say hi, more out of habit than any real desire to poke his nose in Kevin's business. It came as a surprise when he rounded the corner and saw that both Kevin and Gwen were draped over the hood of the car; Ben had Gwen down as a more cautious individual.

And yet she was lying on his chest, plugged into his ipod. Kevin was leaning back, his head cushioned by his hands; they both had their eyes closed, oblivious to the world around them.

Ben was sorely tempted to throw acorns at them or something, but his heart wasn't in it. Instead, he managed to stalk by unseen and bent his steps toward the tennis courts. As Mikey had predicted, they were still heal the rift between them, and of course Ben was happy for his cousin, but…he wasn't too sure on Kevin at the moment.

Okay, yeah, so maybe it was _Ben's_ fault, for hacking the omnitrix, turning him into a monstery-golem thing… But it didn't change the fact that Ben was still pretty pissed at him for treating Gwen that way.

But still…it was nice to see things on the mend. Gwen wouldn't have been so upset if she hadn't cared so much, and it was good to see them both moderately happy again.

Ben couldn't help but feel responsible; after getting mad at Kevin and then accepting his apology, he felt it really was his fault for making Kevin the way he was.

XOXOX

Kevin wished absently he had a wider variety of music on his ipod, but Gwen was happy to listen to his heavy metal play list, among other related genres. On the one level, it allowed him to listen to his own music; but on another, it made him wish he had something of Gwen's to play, even if it meant listening to Miley Cyrus' obnoxious whiney voice, or Taylor Swift's fake country accent.

The ipod cycled through his archives until it picked up on his Relient K album. He'd forgotten he still had this thing…when was the last time he'd played any of these?

Kevin absentmindedly picked it up and scrolled down to one song in particular. Gwen stirred when the song changed mid-sentence, but didn't say anything.

"_When I made up my mind, and my heart along with that…"_

His hand rose, and his fingers started mimicking the chords, the other hand flicking back and forth as though strumming

"_To live not for myself…"_

Kevin only realised his lips were moving in time with the singer's voices when his started of its own accord. "I'm getting into you, because you got to me, in a way words can't describe…"

He felt the weight against his chest shift as Gwen sat up to look at him, but his eyes were closed so he couldn't see her expression. Maybe sitting here singing like this in public wasn't such a good idea…he'd have to turn in his man card if he wasn't careful, Steph was on his case like no one's business.

On the last verse, Kevin felt his voice constrict, but he decided that since he had just sung the rest of it, he might as well get to the end. "I've been a liar and I'll never amount to, the kind of person you deserve to worship you,"

Come on, Gwen had to see that, right? He was thrilled and all that she had forgiven him, and things had almost gone back to the way they had been before they'd hacked the omnitrix, but…

Or maybe it was just his distorted view on reality that was the problem.

So much had happened in the last few months that had turned his world upside-down; this time last year he had had no friends, no job, and no grades. Now he had Ben and Steph, and Mikey to a certain extent; he was still getting a trickle of tech deals coming through every now and then, with information of alien activity on the side; his grades at school were slowly pulling up…and he had Gwen.

When he ordered everything that way in his mind, he wanted to go back in time and slap himself for being such a jackass. Although…Gwen had already done that for him.

Either way, he just hopped she didn't find this song, or the fact that he was singing it, too cheesy.

"He said, I love you and that's what, you're getting yourself into."

Kevin dared to open his eyes and look at Gwen, just as the ipod clicked over to some random death metal song. He pulled the earphone from his ear, and she did the same, the look of wonder not leaving her face.

Chagrined, Kevin turned his head away, fixing his gaze on a nearby tree. She said his name, and he turned just as she leant forward, catching the corner of his mouth with hers.

A memory floated up from the back of his mind: a white dress, his jacket ripped, Bigchill and his bubbly maggot-goo eggs, standing on the porch laughing about it…

Pulling back to look at her, he could tell Gwen was thinking the same thing, because she started giggling. They both laughed, and she rested her forehead against his, their noses just touching.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Gwen said, "I'd forgotten just how corny you could be."

Kevin's response was to give her a lopsided grin, before she leant forward to kiss him.

XOXOX

…**may have screwed the ending up xD I dunno…**

**managed to get on the net again; **Fallen Saint 19 **gave me the idea for the song :) soz it took so frickin' long to get round to it xD**

**So! Fluff. Yes? No? I'm fed up with angst for the moment if I'm honest xD**

**Feedback greatly appreciated! ;)**

**x x x**


	23. The Market

**AN: wheyyy, piece meal writing! XD it sucks, totally. Until I get a burst of inspiration and go on writing for twenty pages of waffle :) lol SLIGHT exaggeration, but this took a while to put together, and then I just went mental at the end.**

_**The Market**_

Lily was cooking up breakfast for her family when the doorbell rang. Ken was home for the weekend, and he loved scrambled eggs and bacon on toast. Gwen had grabbed some cereal earlier and was back upstairs doing…something.

Every time Frank tried to get her to go out and do something with him and Ken she had some excuse, like emailing her penpal in Costa Rica, making a presentation on The Roaring Twenties, or chilling with one of her new romance novels.

Lily was aware that something had happened between Kevin and Gwen, but she hadn't pressed the issue, and she decided that it wasn't worth getting wound up about it when Kevin pulled up outside the house and kissed her goodbye in plain view.

And of course, Frank was not impressed by the proceedings. Ken had been interrogating Ben, who'd shrugged and remained noncommittal, and thus decided to leave the topic.

Whoever it was, someone was at the door, now hammering on the lintel. Lily removed the frying pan from the hotplate and went to answer, having to crane her neck to look at who it was.

A lanky looking boy about Kevin's age was standing there. He had a spray of inky black hair, multiple facial-piercings, and very odd eyes. She knew there was a genetic condition that caused more than one pigment to be present in the iris, but she couldn't remember much about it. Deep brown and startling blue were not two colours she would have expected to see in the same eye. He was wearing dark green shorts, flip-flops, and the brightest orange t-shirt she'd ever seen with yellow lines marking out a sprawling star-like pattern; behind him on the curb was Steph's red jeep.

"Morning Mrs Tennyson," he said brightly. "Is Gwen home?"

Lily guessed it was Steph's friend Michael. "Yes, she's upstairs, just a moment." She went to the bottom of the stair well and called, "Gwen! Your friend's are here!"

"Just a sec!" she called back.

Michael waited patiently while Gwen sorted herself out, and Lily invited him inside. His demeanour was casual, but he didn't laze around and remained extremely polite…until the horn started blaring. Steph leaned out of the passenger window, yelling through the open door.

"Come _on_! We'll miss the free parking spaces if we wait any longer!"

"Gwen!" Michael dropped the polite act, yelling up the stairs. "Get your butt down here now! Steph's getting crabby!"

"I _said_ just a sec!" she shouted back.

"Argh," he massages his temples. "Mrs Tennyson? Do you mind if I invade for a sec?"

"Of course not," she said uncertainly. She remembered Michael's older sister, who had given Gwen some medicine when she had had the chest infection; they seemed a nice enough family. Then again, those piercings…made him look a bit on the rough side.

Lily shook her head as the boy ran up the stairs. Kevin was a bit like that, minus the piercings…and he was a nice enough boy most of the time.

Gwen screamed, and Michael raced back down the stairs with her slung over his shoulder. "Gang way!" he called, running through the open front door to the car.

"Put me _down_ you _jerk!_"

Lily's last glimpse of her daughter was of her trying to hit Michael in the back as she disappeared over the threshold. The car pulled away, and all was quiet again until Ken dragged himself from bed, groaning.

"What's with all the yelling?" he asked, nursing a headache. He had gone out with a few of his old high school friends last night and gotten himself completely drunk, which earned him no sympathy.

Lily was aware Gwen did drink from time to time, but she had never had to deal with drunken, disorderly behaviour from her daughter.

"Gwen's friends came to pick her up," she told him, dumping a plate in front of Ken. "Eat up."

He yawned widely and complied. "Man…I should have listened to Joey…"

"Do I _want_ to know?" she asked.

"Mac said it would be funny to snort Tabasco Sauce and see who whimped out first. Joey tried to stop me…"

Lily snorted with laughter. Some friend's of his…Joey had always been a responsible young man, even back in first grade.

Frank entered the room, and went straight to the coffee pot. "Where's Gwen?"

"Out. She and her friend's are going to the open market today."

"That was Steph's car, wasn't it?" her husband asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, Steph owns that trashy red heap of junk. So what?" Ken demanded.

"I didn't recognise the boy with them." He said innocently.

Slightly _too_ innocently…

"That weird eyed kid with the orange bike?" Ken was in full swing again. "He's called Mikey Simcox. He spams Gwen's Facebook everyday."

"What's he like?" Frank asked lightly.

Lily rolled her eyes as Ken spewed a ton of information about him that he had gleaned from the Internet. Apparently he was born in Ireland, lived in England, and then swanned over here to annoy Steph. He sounded like quite a nice boy really, especially when Lily made the connection between him and the person Gwen had gone to when she had hit a rough patch with Kevin.

Her glow of happiness for her daughter lived as long as Frank's coffee cup remained full. When he had finished, he watched his wife with shifty eyes as she began the washing up.

"I think he sounds like a very nice young man."

Here we go…

"Yes, he does," Lily said simply.

Ken stabbed at his toast, not paying them any attention, too fixed on his headache to notice the change in atmosphere.

"I do wish Gwen would bring home a boy like him every once in a while," Frank said, straining to remain conversational.

Lily glared at him over the soapy frying pan. The tension was broken by Ken, who yawned widely again and picked up his plate. "What does it matter? She has Kevin, and _he's_ half way decent too." He dumped his plate and went straight to the new TV. "I don't know why you make such a fuss, Dad."

Frank frowned after his son before turning to Lily and swallowing his words at the look on her face.

Satisfied, she went back to the dishes, and it took a while before he worked up the courage to join her. Frank silently dried and stacked the utensils until they were finished, before helping to put them away.

"You can't be happy with this arrangement," he said at last in a low voice so Ken couldn't hear.

Ken was spread-eagled on the sofa, watching a football game with mild interest.

"What arrangement, exactly?" she hissed.

"I don't think Gwen knows what she's doing," Frank insisted. "Do you even know what's on that delinquent's record?"

She did know a bit, which Max had told her. And _he_ let the lot of them parade around town fighting off aliens; she trusted her father-in-law's judgement, why couldn't Frank?

Lily voiced this comment, and earned a scathing look in return. "It's all the same," he muttered darkly. "Every teenaged girl seems to think they can change their criminal boyfriend. I wouldn't surprised if he got her pregnant before she graduates,"

"Gwen's a smart girl," she said firmly, putting a hand on his arm. "And I don't think Kevin would do that to her. Besides, I'm fairly certain if they were that set on being together, they both know how contraception works."

Frank's face went bright red. "I didn't mean-!"

"I know _exactly_ what you were thinking." She kissed his cheek, and cleared the empty egg carton into the bin. "Besides. Did I marry the first person I dated? Did you?"

"No," he mumbled, shamefaced.

"Well. What's to worry about? If it's not meant to be, the infatuation will wear off, and she'll find someone else. Don't think about it."

Lily had her foot on the bottom stair when she heard him say, "I'm still not happy about this."

"Ssh!" Ken hissed from his position. "I'm trying to listen!"

XOXOX

"Woah!" Mikey rushed the queue for the cotton candy barrel and drooled over the fluffy, sticky confection. "I want that one!" he pointed at the bright purple blob being handed to a little five-year-old girl.

Gwen laughed at him as she and Steph strolled by at a leisurely pace. "He's like a little kid," she giggled.

"I had to go to school with him." Steph rolled her eyes. "It was a bloody nightma-" she stopped, and stared at something to their right.

"Err…Steph?" Gwen waved a hand in her face.

"OHMIGOD!" she dived at a stall that had just been set up, and started making weird faces at the deformed mirrors displayed there. "I love these things!" she squealed, leaning to the left and shaking her head so her tongue lolled all over the place.

Mikey joined her, and Gwen left them to their own devices, sighing.

Ben was swinging by with Julie later, and Kevin had promised to go watch his sister at hockey practise before coming down here to see them. Two of her school friends were coming, but they wouldn't be here until about midday. So she was stuck with nothing to do until Steph and Mikey got bored…

"Hey!"

Gwen looked up, and grinned when she saw a familiar dark face. Taylor was standing on a large square platform made from solid wood; spread out under his feet was a thick heavy cloth that was littered with wooden objects. Around him were other street vendors from various reservations in the state, all selling handmade items.

She made a beeline for him, and found River hunched over a notebook with Miley hiding behind a peeling green bench next to Taylor's wares.

"Hi!" Miley grinned, waving.

"Heye," River smiled tiredly before yawning. "You all right?"

"Yeah," Gwen smiled, despite Steph and Mikey ditching her. "How's it going?"

Taylor started explaining how much he'd already made, and how much he would today if all went well. The sun was shining, and it was expected to be a good turnout; all in all, he was expecting to do well.

"_And_," he waved a scroll of paper in her face, "I have the deeds here to a house near Sooke," he looked so tremendously pleased with himself. "It's not that far from the Rez, and it's not in view of the sea, so it's not as expensive."

"Should that be a problem?" Gwen asked, slightly confused.

Miley stood up, dusting herself down and stepping away from River to help Taylor rearrange his models a bit more artistically. "Along that stretch of coast, a property that has a sea view can add several hundred thousand to its value. Taylor's massively pleased with himself cause the guy who owns it wants to pack up and move up to Courtney, it's _just_ on the boarder line of the T'souke Reservation, and it's just around the tree line from the sea. It's the perfect location!"

"Yeah," River grumbled, heaving herself to her feet and clumsily lurching around to help with migration of wood and stone animals. "But I'd feel a whole lot better looking at it before we make a decision." She stared pointedly at Taylor.

"I know, I know," he defended himself. "But we're doing pretty well at the moment. Any other potential buyers have been put off so far," he seemed happy about that.

That begged the question that Gwen voiced. "Why?"

"Give us a hand," Miley said, moving a soapstone eagle and swapping it with a large wooden salmon plaque. "This way? Or this way?"

"How about this?" River took the plaque and placed it along side a carved paddle, and sited a delicate model of a horse in its former location.

"Basically," Taylor explained, leaving the artistic licence to the two women. "This guy's known my family for ages. His wife died in childbirth, and his daughter swanned off to Australia and married into one of the Aboriginal families there, and he rented this place out while he lived in Vancouver. Now he wants to move back to Courtney where he used to live with his wife. The place has been gutted and needs loads doing to it, but it's technically on T'souke land, so the elders have a say in the real estate. Plus, it's got tonnes of land." He showed her the plan of the three-storey building, and the surrounding terrain.

"Wow!" it looked too good to be true, which in her experience was a bad thing. "What's the catch?"

"Well," Taylor rolled the papers up and shoved them in his back pocket. "We'll have to furnish it ourselves, and with a baby on the way and all…" he looked to River for comment.

She stood up straight, brushing the stray wood shavings from her pastel blue shirt and said firmly, "We'll manage. I can get cheap materials off Abbie and Dianne. And you and your brother's can do most of the work, so we won't have to pay for labour."

Obviously, River had been thinking this through. Taylor admitted that was a good idea, and then he and Miley started plotting and scheming the nursery, making River scowl in disgust.

"Can we worry about Junior's room _after_ we actually get a house?"

"No!" Miley grabbed her by the elbow and started bouncing on the spot. "Mel told me not to tell you but I can't hold it in any more! We're going shopping for Junior today!"

"I know," Gwen laughed at her expression, a mixture of disgust and incredulity. "She warned me about it last night."

"That's where the night terrors came from," Taylor teased.

"Shut up!" she whined back.

"Come on! How bad can it be? Just leave everything to me," and with that Miley sauntered down the bare stretch of grass that served as a path, back towards the parking lot.

Taylor was snorting with laughter, and River turned on him with narrowed eyes. "I'll deal with _you_ later." She snarled.

"What'd _I _do?" he demanded.

"Look what you unleashed!" River ranted at him. "You don't just _stop_ Miley when she's on a roll! Look what you did! Now she's going to design the whole thing without even consulting us!" he opened his mouth to defend himself, but she cut across him. "_I'm_ the one who's gonna balloon like a whale over this! Don't I get a say in anything?" and she burst into tears.

Gwen jumped back in alarm; the last person on Earth she would expect to see crying was River. She had remained steady and constant since she had arrived in Bellwood, despite her insistence that she had wild mood swings and went crazy from time to time. Then again, she was imbalanced anyway by being pregnant…

Still, it was upsetting to watch such a strong and solid adult cry like that.

Taylor calmly dropped what he was doing and pulled her into his arms so she was bawling into his shoulder. "We're okay," he said evenly to Gwen over her shoulder. "We're just having one of our moments."

"O-okay," Gwen wasn't sure what to do, and jumped at the chance to leave when Taylor mentioned he had just seen Steph in the distance by a bouncy castle.

XOXOX

Kevin had to push his way through the crowd at the gates, not knowing where the others were. He had tried to call Gwen, but his battery had died just before she could pick up, so he was stalking through the maze of stalls with a scowl on his face.

Steph swooped on him from nowhere and yelled, "Cheer up, might never happen!" she forced a corn dog into his hands and bounced away cheerfully.

Damn her for being so happy today…

Mikey was ambling around with Ben, looking at a tent full of English football and rugby shirts. Kevin decided to drop by long enough to say hi, so naturally he got caught up in the conversation on the finer points of English sports.

"What's the difference?" Ben asked, comparing a blue Rangers shirt with a red and white Man U one.

"Ranger's are Scottish," Mikey explained, taking a green one off the rail at the back. "Oooh, Dublin! I was born there, you know."

"So what?" Kevin asked, not in the least bit interested in English ball sports.

"That's not what I meant," Ben insisted, picking up and blue and white shirt. "I mean, Football, Rugby, Soccer…what's with you guys and giving them weird names?"

"Well, football you play with your feet," Mikey said slowly, as though he were telling Steph's little brother.

"No you don't, that's soccer," Ben insisted, brandishing the shirt in his face. "You play football with your hands. _Real _football, anyway."

"But if you play with your hands, why isn't it call Handball?" Mikey argued.

He had him there.

"Handball's another sport," Kevin put in.

"Face it!" Mikey shook the blue shirt in Ben's face. "American Football is a perverted form of English Rugby! And- _woooo_!" he held the offending garment up for all to see, and started chanting in a drunken accent, "Play Up Pompey, Pompey Play – _argh_!"

Steph bounced in out of nowhere with a grin. "Pompey Play Up!" she trilled loudly.

"Eww," Ben pretended to vomit. "Drunken English pub songs…"

Mikey and Steph started singing in what could only have been some sort of native English dialect; it was in a strange accent, with totally English words and with no sense emanating from them. The tent owner came over to see what the fuss was about, and Kevin took that as his cue to bow out. Just before he left, he heard the owner say in a broad accent, "Aye, 'tis gud tuh 'ear t'loocals still aboout!"

Wherever that guy haled from, it certainly wasn't Steph's beloved Portsmouth.

Meandering through the crowds, Kevin spotted a familiar pastel blue and earthy brown pair nearby, and bent his steps towards them. Taylor was talking to a troop of blonde girls about his own age, who were giggling and asking questions about his models.

"Heye," he grinned at Kevin before holding up an especially beautiful plaque. "This one is Haida, you see the eye? It's different from that one, which is Salish…"

"What ho?" River asked, smiling up from her notepad.

"You seen Gwen?" he asked, wishing he'd charged his stupid cell up last night.

"Not since about ten. I sort of had one of my moments and scared her off," she said sheepishly.

Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"I basically just burst into tears over something stupid. It's nothing, but I think I freaked her out a bit."

"What's all this?" he asked, pointing at the collection of wood and stone artefacts.

River nodded at Taylor and said, "Listen."

Taylor was talking in an open and friendly manner to the girls, answering their questions, and just generally being nice. Kevin cringed at the lead girl, with impeccably straight hair and thinly plucked eyebrows, leaning forward to examine a stone orca and giving Taylor a good view of her cleavage down her skimpy shirt.

Looking to River, he found that instead of the ire burning in her eyes that he was expecting, she was shoving her fist into her mouth to keep from laughing.

"These are wonderful!" she exclaimed loudly, inspecting it closely. "So beautifully made,"

"Make'em all myself," Taylor said.

River coughed loudly.

"Well, she helps," he tipped her a huge wink.

This sparked off another round of giggling. "So, who're your friends?" said another girl.

"Kevin," Taylor nodded at him. "Friend of mine. And this," he put an arm around River's shoulders and pulled her into his side, "is my girl."

"Aww, how sweet!" they giggled.

The leader, still trying to catch Taylor's eye, barely managed to hide her scowl. Another girl with mousy hair turned to Kevin and winked slyly. "Hel_lo_ there,"

In a reflex reaction he dumped his stuff next to River and sat down behind her, grabbing River's discarded notepad and pencil, and pretended to take notes.

"What's _he_ doing here then?" came the snide comment.

"She's my tutor," he said without thinking.

River turned to look at him, ringletted hair creating a curtain so they couldn't see. She mouthed 'What?' and he gave her a meaningful look. "Yeah," she turned back to face the rabble. "I set him an assignment to see how many different cultures he can find here at the market." Her guileless tone turned their attention from him, and he nudged her between her shoulder blades.

"Thank you," he murmured.

"You owe me a smoothie," she said even more quietly.

Eventually, after much faffing around, Taylor sold them all two items each, and they converged on the next stall selling beaded jewellery. River laughed at his expression, and Kevin found himself joining in.

"That was unpleasant," Taylor muttered.

"That was hilarious!" River giggled.

Taylor prodded her shoulder. "Was not. How'd you like it if some random douche threw his nuts in your face?" he seemed flustered more at the girl than at River's reaction.

Kevin knew Gwen would have flipped if it were him…

River watched another Native American, this one from a local Reservation, parading around a tent opposite their dais with no shirt on, muscles bulging in the sunlight.

"I wouldn't be complaining," she said slyly.

Kevin looked between the two of them; River smiling in an underhanded way and Taylor scowling back at her. It got Kevin wondering.

How did they do it? Keep their relationship going? Yesterday he'd basically thrown Miley into the air and started waltzing around the front garden at Steph's house while River chatted amiably with the postman and then the milkman as they came by.

Gwen would be upset again if Kevin did something stupid like that, and he knew he'd be jealous as hell if he caught someone else chatting her up. How did River and Taylor banter about like this without any trouble?

"You know what?" she said suddenly, pulling Kevin from his reverie.

"What?" Taylor asked in a resigned tone.

"I could so go for one of those," she watched a lanky looking teen with greasy blonde hair and pimply skin walk by with a huge bun full of meat and assorted vegetables.

"What, gross teenagers with bad skin conditions?" Taylor shot at her.

"No," she was watching said teen eating his lunch. "I'm starving. That's basically a Herstmonceux Hog Roast he's eating."

"Herse…what?" Kevin asked.

"Herstmonceux," River said impatiently. "English castle, home of _the_ English Medieval Festival. And I'm _dying_ here!" she added, suddenly sounding like Crystal when Cain refused her any chocolate.

It was such a change from the River who was always in control of the situation that Kevin laughed out loud.

Taylor sighed, and reached for his money belt. "There's no pleasing you, is there?" he took out a few notes and handed them to her. "Go get something to eat."

"You want anything?" she asked, counting the money before shoving it in her wallet.

"Not right now, take your time." He said, eyeing up a family of five who were in turn eyeing up one of his models from afar. "I got wares to sell."

"Wanna come with?" River asked, standing up.

"Sure," Kevin was more likely to find Gwen if he was up and about, and if he was in the company of another woman he was less likely to have people trying to hit on him.

There was, indeed, a hog roast further down the path. And, as it happened, the German guy running it recognised River from the last fifteen medieval festivals. They spent ten minutes chatting to each other while he dealt with their order before they had to break it off with the press of people behind them. Kevin would have paid for both of them if River hadn't beaten him to it.

"I was gonna!" he complained as they left the fire pit.

"My treat," she insisted without remorse, attacking her roll with single-minded ferocity.

They had got the same: a white buttered roll with pork, bacon, and a large helping of fried onions. Kevin had to admit; the people of the fifteenth century sure knew how to eat. He asked River if she did this often at festivals and markets, and she laughed, "All the time!"

That sparked off another round of questions, and he pestered her all the way down the path to the dais where most of the Natives were congregated. Taylor was busy with two different groups, so River suggested going for a wonder. "I shouldn't really be on my own at the moment," she grimaced as they walked by, waving at Taylor so he knew which direction they were headed. "I haven't been having headaches since I stopped taking the herbal medicine, but I keep passing out. Taylor's paranoid I'm gonna die or something if I'm unaccompanied." She grimaced. "I hope you don't mind…"

"What's wrong with that?" Kevin teased. "_I _get to baby sit _you_ for a change!"

"You'll be running for cover," she promised with a grin. "I have been such a bitch recently you wouldn't _believe_…"

"What do you mean?" Kevin asked.

"Oh, you know. Getting moody, yelling and screaming, general hysteria…apparently I was screaming all last night about scorpions but I don't remember a thing."

Kevin laughed, and spotted a marquee full of guitars. He headed towards it without thinking, and River followed. He paused with indecision at the long line of instruments, but River wondered past, looking around her with wide eyes. She looked like a little kid at Christmas, which made Kevin want to laugh again.

"Wow…" she picked up a dark green guitar with mother-of-pearl dragonflies around the triangular sound hole and looped the strap over her head, strumming a few chords. "Beautiful sound…" she said admiringly, replacing it.

"Erm…" Kevin wasn't sure what to say.

"Speak up," she said, not turning around from the warm honey coloured classical guitar in her hands. "I'm listening."

"You and Taylor," he began, but he stopped.

"Yeah?" River encouraged, trying the honey coloured one and cringing at the sound it made – not entirely because it was out of tune.

"Those girls…you didn't seem too fussed about it." He said lamely.

River laughed, but not unkindly. "Puh-_lease_. If I had a nickel for every time that happened I'd be rolling in it." She slowly made her way down the row of guitars, picking one out at random and testing the sound. Kevin followed suit, more for something to do with his hands than anything else.

"So…you weren't jealous?" he asked.

"Nope," River confirmed, pausing to pick up a bright electric blue acoustic guitar. "What the…? Eww. That colour doesn't belong on a classical guitar,"

Kevin refused to be sidetracked. "How do you do it? Gwen would freak if she thought I was eyeing up another girl…"

River turned to him with a serious expression on her face. "Well, you are both still teenagers and trust me, I grew up in a house full of hormonal boys." His face flushed. "You get pretty possessive cause you just know everyone is eyeing up everyone else. It's all part of growing up." She paused at a beautifully shaped steel string guitar in the most hideous shade of pink, and skipped over it, pretending to wretch.

"Aren't you?" Kevin persisted. He wasn't really good with relationships, and he was slightly envious of the way River and Taylor gelled together seemingly without hiccups.

"Well, kinda I guess," she admitted imperturbably. "I mean, sometimes he's paying more attention to someone or something else, and I get selfish and demand he pay attention to me. Mainly we wind each other up about it, it doesn't really bother us anymore though."

River replaced the guitar she was holding and fixed Kevin with a piercing gaze, making him nearly drop the cherry red instrument in his hands. "It's not all fluffy bunnies and pretty flowers; we've gone through a lot to get to where we are today. Trust me, I know how hard it is to convince someone that they are the person you want to be with."

Damn her for reading his mind… "I never said that," he snapped, trying to regain his footing in the conversation.

"Yeah but you were totally thinking it," she released him from his gaze, picking up a puce guitar. "Hmm, tasty." It actually sounded reasonably nice, but River complained it was too bulky in her arms.

"It's just that," Kevin said before he stopped to think. "Everything just seems to be in place for you and Taylor. I don't get it…" he was about to mention how he'd rarely seen any sort of marital relationship work out, but he bit his tongue in time.

She just had to know where he was coming from, and though River stopped her aimless search, she didn't look him in the eye, preferring to trace the sound hole of a black and white chequered guitar.

"It used to be really bumpy." She said at last, as though admitting to something she wasn't proud of. "Taylor likes blondes, it's a fact I've lived with for five years. Every one of his ex's weren't liked on the Rez. Then along comes me, English Navel upbringing, degrees from all over the show, specialised in Criminal Psychology, and drooling over the chief's grandson." She pulled a face and Kevin laughed. "You can guess how well that went down. Anyway, his last ex Stacey decided the only way she was going to stop him from flirting with me was to announce that she was dumping him and go out with some surfer guy from California staying in Vancouver. And then Taylor promptly drops everything and raced cross continent to get to me in Halifax to ask if I'd be his girlfriend."

Kevin looked at her in awe. All the way from West to East? That showed dedication.

"It was so cheesy I still have cholesterol problems." She said conversationally. "But I decided then and there I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, because he was prepared and willing to down tools just like that, just for me."

"So, what's so wrong?" there had to be a catch, judging by her expression.

The first sign of hesitancy crossed her face, and she bit her lip. "His father doesn't like me. For obvious reasons," she shook her head, trying to dispel a thought.

Kevin felt sympathy for her; he knew _exactly_ how that felt.

"But the main one I think is that I make him do crazy things," she passed a hand over her eyes, lurching to one side before regaining her balance. Kevin was prepared in case she had one of her moments, but she continued. "Like dropping everything to come running to me whenever… Sometimes I wish he wouldn't, he spoils me too much. Apparently, and I only know this cause his sister – bless her heart – told me so, Taylor was the model son, apart from bringing unsavoury girls home. I'm no different to any of the pale faces in his father's eyes. You've seen me in action, I know more about the Salish people than _Taylor_ does, and I grew up in Devon! Plymouth is so different to anything out here, and Portsmouth… And I still can't do anything right, no matter how many times I get involved with their celebrations and help around the village…"

River sighed, and shook her head again. "Sorry, I don't mean to moan about this…"

"No," Kevin insisted. "You listen to my problems, it's only fair I do the same for you." True, that was his first reason. But his ulterior motive was to try and get inside her head and understand her, hoping he could use her experience to help his own relationship.

River unexpectedly gave him a hug, but let go before he could really react. "You're a really nice guy, you know that?" she smiled.

He blushed, hidden by the ID Mask, unable to say anything.

"Well, basically. Taylor's father holds everything that makes me who I am against me. He even thinks being adopted is a bad thing," something twisted behind her eyes, but Kevin couldn't possibly fathom what it was. "And all the medical stuff that goes with the car crash; he says stuff like I cause him too much stress cause I need to be looked after and Taylor took on the role of carer basically the day I first met him, before I decided to move out there. It's impossible to please his Dad, no matter what I do. I can't help being the way I am, it's just _me_, you know? It's not like I asked for this, but I'm stuck with it anyway, so I just have to make do."

That sounded like Kevin's life story.

"But anyway. So I've been with Taylor for five years, and in that time we have hit bumps in the road, but we've been able to get over them, and that's why he's sitting out there now earning money for our baby," her blunt statement struck a chord with him.

"When you say bumps…?" Kevin asked slowly.

"Remember your little fiasco? Stuff like that. Only it was completely my fault."

"What happened?"

"Well…Steph probably spilled my guts for me, so you'll know I have a massive scar down my back. This was sort of before we declared ourselves well and truly in love. I let his brothers talk me into going to the fenced off section of the Pot Holes National Park. I managed to trip and knock myself out, and I fell down the slope on some nasty rocks."

River tugged at the collar of her shirt, turning her back to him and pulled it off, revealing the bare skin of her shoulders. Under the straps of the tank top she was wearing, marring the pale skin there, was an angry pink line that shuddered away beneath her top. Kevin cringed when he thought of how much pain it must have inflicted. She pulled her loose fitting shirt back over her shoulders, and he suddenly realised why she wore those sorts of shirts in this heat.

"Ouch," was all he could really say.

"Yeah," River grimaced. "You can see why it was a problem. Taylor went mental, kept saying it was his fault for letting Jed and that lot force me into it. Really, I should have put my foot down and said no, but I let them talk me into it. And I was wearing inappropriate footwear at the time, so it was just a case of Sod's Law." She pulled a face, and started picking guitars up again, but Kevin just watched her, taking everything in.

"When I came round, I was back at the Reservation, and Dianne was looking after me. She's the resident witch doctor: she's crazier than I am, and I love her to bits. But Taylor thought I'd him hate for whatever reason…I can't even remember what he said now, it was so stupid. When I could stand again I went to go talk to him because he hadn't visited me, so there I was thinking I'd done something wrong, when he's beating himself up like bloody Edward Cullen, 'OMFG I totally screwed up and now she'll hate me and blah life is over'. I was so angry at him…"

"What'd you do?" Kevin asked.

"Well…" River pulled another face and gestured with her hands. "Now I don't promote senseless violence, but I slapped him across the face. Kinda hard. Kinda real hard…" she grimaced. "I was just so angry at him for forgetting to factor in my own opinion. He was going make the decision without asking me how I felt, and I was so pissed off I actually thought my eyesight was going red. In the end I screamed at him that if he wanted me to leave then I'd just go cause I wasn't going to hang around and wait for him to decide if he really loved me or not." She laughed suddenly. "And as you can see, four and a bit years later, still together."

"Rings a bell," Kevin admitted, looking down at the guitar on the floor by his feet. It was beautifully crafted with a hummingbird at the top of the neck, with little green flowers on the frets instead of the normal round circles.

River grinned at him. "Like I always say; shit happens. If I let everything bad that's ever happened get to me, I'd be the most bitter and twisted _thing_ on the planet. Adopted? So what! I got great parents and a good upbringing. Car crash? Hey! Dean's found his true self because of it, and I've never known him to be happier than now. So I have a huge scar big deal; I have everything I need in life."

"Except a house," Kevin said without even thinking. He bit his lip, worried her tolerance would wane.

River shrugged. "Working on it. Actually, if we could get enough money together quickly we could get this property. It's the perfect location for a young family, and we'd be close to Taylor's parents should we need anything."

The way she managed to rationalize and put things into perspective was amazing. Were Kevin only able to do the same…

"I wish I could see the world through your eyes," he said wistfully. "Maybe I wouldn't screw up so much at life…"

"Oh, you'll learn," she said vaguely. "When I was your age you only had to look at me and I'd burst into tears and scream 'don't look at me!' or something." He laughed. "Seriously, I was the most temperamental person you could possibly meet. Thing is though, between the ages of eighteen and nineteen, I grew up. A lot. And I know how Cognitive Behavioural Therapy works; it helps to know how the mind works and how to put things in order so it's easier to handle."

Kevin chewed over her words for a bit, floating off to peruse the lines of stringed instruments while River contemplated a deep jade one at the end of a row.

A lot of what she said made sense, and oddly enough it was a huge relief to hear her own worries and problems. It proved to Kevin that he wasn't the only one who had problems with his relationship; even Minder Reader River had issues to sort out.

Still…she hadn't the shady background and emotionally lacking upbringing that he did. It sounded tough to be sure, but she always had someone to watch her back. Kevin wished he'd had someone there for him back then, maybe he wouldn't have screwed his life up so much.

And then again, if he hadn't been dabbling with high level and illegal tech, would he have ever have met Gwen?

"Wow," River laughed, turning to Kevin with a grin. "Someone with _way_ too much time on their hands," she offered the solid oak carving for inspection.

It was shaped like a hive, with painful attention given to the tiniest detail. Small flowers and bees were arranged around the bottom end and the sound hole, with an over-flowing honey pot at the top of the neck.

"It's Mad Mike!" she laughed again, clutching her sides.

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell is Mad Mike?"

"Friend of mine from college. He had learning disabilities and a liking for Winnie the Pooh. Anything with a honey pot, and-"

"Hey!" someone said loudly from right beside them.

Kevin jumped in surprise and River nearly dropped the guitar in alarm. They both looked up at the burly man with a thick moustache in shock.

"Either buy a guitar, or get out of my tent." He snapped menacingly.

River calmly replaced the honey monstrosity back on its hook and serenely left the marquee, followed by a scowling Kevin.

"Git face…" he muttered darkly.

"He'll lose buyers if he acts that way." She shrugged, completely unfazed.

"Yeah," Kevin sneered over his shoulder. "Then I can go laugh at his broke ass,"

"What goes around comes around," River said in an airy-fairy tone.

"Huh?" what was she driving at now?

It took a moment for her to answer, as though each word was being carefully weighed. "Everything happens for a reason." She said eventually, inspecting the toe of her scruffy sneaker. "And every action has a consequence. No matter what you do, even if you get away with it in this life, it'll come back and bite you one day."

Kevin stopped in his tracks and she kept on walking.

"Or give you a hug, depending on whether it was something nice or not," she said over her shoulder, giving him a lopsided grin.

"You sound like the worst Santa…" Kevin grumbled, trying to ignore her wise words.

"Yeah, the beards kinda crap as well if I'm being honest," she said with a sad little sigh. "But a girl can dream. A girl can dream…"

Kevin was still laughing when he spotted just the thing he had been looking for: a long flowing mane of dark red hair. Leaving River to poke her nose into a stall of seashell jewellery, he snuck up behind Gwen, who was perusing a rack of silk scarves, and grabbed her by the waist.

Naturally, she screamed, and beat him round the head with her bag, until he spun her round in his arms so she could see his face.

"Kevin?"

"Hey, I- ouch!"

She slapped him. "What the hell! I called you only a million and one times! Where have you been?"

"Hanging," he nodded over at River. "My cell literally died _just_ as I walked through the gates. I was looking for you, and-"

"And you think it's all right to just sneak up from behind and-?" Gwen began, but he leant forward to kiss her.

If he was being honest with himself, it was partly to shut her up and stop making a scene, but he also just wanted an excuse. As always, she just wrapped her arms around him, forgetting her irritation almost instantly. It was a nice little moment, but someone coughed loudly, and Kevin stopped on the brink of swearing at the culprit.

And it was a good thing too; two dark haired girls, one fair skinned and the other deeply tanned, were standing in identical stances with their arms crossed and their eyebrows raised.

"We wondered hat all the screaming was about," said the dark one.

Gwen looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights, and Kevin had to fight the urge to laugh at her.

"I was just…um…"

"So," the fair skinned girl flipped her shoulder length hair over her shoulder. "You going to introduce us?" she smiled sweetly at the scowl on Gwen's face.

More to wind her up than anything else, Kevin held a hand out to the girls in turn, giving them a firm handshake and saying, "Hi, I'm Kevin,"

"I'm Georgia," said the tanned girl. "This is Candi."

"Pretty name," he complemented, watching Gwen's reaction from the corner of his eye.

"It's Candace," she said firmly, glaring at Georgia.

"So," Georgia smirked at Gwen, and suddenly she was trying to hide behind a rail of tie-dyed bandanas. "You must be the infamous Levin we keep hearing about."

Kevin had to admit, it was fun making Gwen squirm in front of her friends like this, but he had learned more or less where to draw the line, so he draped an arm around her waist and said, "It was lovely meeting you two, but we've got to go," he steered Gwen away back to River. "See you soon!" he called cheerfully.

"Bye Gwen!" Georgia said sarcastically.

"Text me later!" Candace added with mockingly feeling words.

Gwen was about to give him a piece of her mind when River turned to them with a smile, but before anyone could say anything Miley swooped out of nowhere, grabbed her by the arms and said, "Oh-my-gosh-I-saw-the-cutest-outfit-_ever_-you've-got-to-come-see-this-now-!" at a hundred and ten miles an hour before running down the path, towing a bewildered River behind her.

In the sudden silence that followed, Gwen bore a hole in the side of Kevin's head. He opened his mouth to speak, but she raised a threatening finger and he stopped.

"Few things," she said menacingly. "First, since when do _you_ use the word 'lovely'?" he fought back a Ben-like giggle. "Second, show me up in front of my school friends why don't you?" she slapped his arm rather hard. "And third, why are you copying Steph's way of speaking?"

Wait…what?

"What do you mean, 'copying Steph's way of speaking'?" he demanded. He didn't copy anyone; he was his own inspiration, he didn't need to steal catch phrases off anyone else!

Gwen snorted derisively. "_Please._ 'Literally'? Only Pompey secondary school kids talk like that. You're American and from Bellwood, what's your excuse?"

Kevin narrowed his eyes at her as she flippantly shook her hair out of her eyes, meeting his gaze with equal intensity.

XOXOX

All in all, a good day out. Mikey liked going to open markets and English festivals. Heck, they even had a bloody hog roast! This Plumber's stint in America just kept getting better and better.

…Or so he thought, until he was back at Steph's house.

It was rather odd, but when he, Ben and Steph were settled in to watch some TV, several arguments exploded one after the other. First, Miley and Lea started shouting at each other (no surprise there) about whether it was all right to plan for Junior's room on River's behalf, to which Miley wanted so badly to, and Lea vehemently refused to allow.

And then came Kevin and Gwen, arguing heatedly about…something.

"Look, I was just saying," she began, grabbing her jacket and stalking to the front door.

"No, you're saying I have no originality and that I crib all my phrases off Steph! I so don't!"

"I never said that!"

"Well you were implying it!"

"I was _not_!"

"You so were!"

Gwen stormed out of the door, looking just about ready to kick the poor thing in. Kevin ran after her, still fuming. Mikey watched Steph and Ben exchange glances before going back to watching the weird reality show on the screen.

And then River and Taylor floated by, getting exasperated with each other while River located and laced up her shoes.

"Look, I just said that Miley-"

"Tuh _hell_ with what she says." River snapped. "She is _not_ getting her hands on _anything_ until I set the boundaries."

"It can't be _that_ bad, sweetheart." He reasoned.

Mikey snorted to himself. Yeah right…

"You haven't seen her in an art class. She's a bloody psycho! And she's not making an _Alice in Wonderland _themed nursery when Junior could be a boy!"

"Well, we can just go for a colour or something. How about yellow?"

"Pfft. No way." She said scathingly, sitting up and lacing up her other shoe. "No child of mine is waking up to a happy sunshiny custard coloured room."

"So what _do_ you want then?" Taylor humoured her, helping River to her feet and guiding her to the door.

"Beige," she said promptly, stepping over the threshold.

"What? That has to be the most boring colour ever discovered by man! We want to stimulate the mind not bore the poor kid to sleep!"

The door swung shut loudly, and Mikey watched them walk over to the jeep, still arguing. Steph cleared her throat loudly into the silence and said, "Bye then."

Ben laughed, before he took on a serene expression, which was more than a little bit creepy.

"What is it?" Steph asked, unafraid. "Smoothie come back to haunt you?"

"Don't you think its kinda weird how River and Taylor remind you of Gwen and Kevin? When you think how River's like Kevin's head shrink? Their relationship's are kinda similar."

Mikey and Steph, who were seated either side of Ben, both grabbed the arms of the sofa and leaned far away from him in unison.

"Should we be afraid?" Mikey asked her gravely.

"Hold me," she said in a small voice.

Ben raised an eyebrow at them, and began to say, "Um, guys? What are you-?"

They both sprang up and clung to each other. "_He's doing a Mel!_" they shrieked, and ran out of the room screaming, leaving a perplexed Ben behind.

XOXOX

**Wow. I got carried away there xD mainly cause before I wrote this I was on the phone to a friend for hours about how we didn't go to Herstmonceux this year and I was like 'aww man! I'd give anything for dead pig roll!' (Sorry to any vegetarians out there, I just love a good English roast!) So I had a lovely tangent to fall down.**

**Also, I read a paper in English about developing characters and relationships and stuff in novels and plays, and I thought I would be clever and use it here. I don't really remember if I dove tailed it in anywhere or not xD I wrote this bit by bit over a few days, and then the last third or so just came in one big chunk and I forgot what I was supposed to be trying to be clever about xD**

**So yeah, I doubt I'll update again until the weekend, cause my teachers decided to give us a week's notice on exams, and I somehow managed to get involved with charity week and the Remembrance Day Service on the eleventh, so I dunno when I'll fit in writing on top of homework and revision**

**Also, and before I forget: should we go to some more action scenes or have one of Steph's DVD nights next? I've hit writers block and I duno where to take the next chapter :S any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! :)**

**xxx**


	24. Big Bad Wolf

**AN: I was meaning to update at the weekend, but I got roped into baby sitting for six children as well as three babies under the age of one. And then I went to karate training and got told I'm now an instructor and go coach these newbies for their red belt o.O it left very little room for writing.**

**But then I woke up this morning with a stinking head cold and an inability to speak, so I spent the day loafing around and writing this instead of going to school and spreading the plague**

_**Big Bad Wolf**_

"_Any luck?_" Mikey asked over the badge communicator.

"No." Gwen whispered back, shifting to get comfortable.

She was lying flat on her stomach, watching the deep valley below her in the dim moonlight, waiting for Ben's signal. Steph was perched on a ledge just above her to the left, wings held in readiness to dive, looking as though rigor mortis had set in.

"My wings hurt…" she groaned into the darkness.

The communicator picked up a loud bout of static for a moment before Mikey's voice smoothed out the crackling. "_I can't actually see the-_" there was a yelp and a thud, followed by someone cursing.

"_I found Kevin_," Mikey trilled.

"Bully for you," Steph muttered darkly. She looked like a gargoyle in the faint light, one that had been plucked from its favourite roost on a cathedral and dumped in the middle of hell.

"_Guys, see anything?_" Ben hissed from somewhere on the other side of the valley.

"No."

"_I hear something,_" Kevin said.

"_That's my stomach…_" Mikey whispered.

"Wait a second," Gwen held out a hand before Steph could make a come back. She watched carefully at the mouth of the valley; two or three tiny pin points of light floated down the crevices in the rocks. "I've got a visual, east end of the valley."

"_Me too,_"

"_Copy that,_"

Carefully Gwen reached for her binoculars and fixed her gaze on the lights. Kevin had got a tip-off that there were illegal Lupus 'cattle drivers' working in Arizona. Which was why she was lying face down in the dirt, watching for movement right now. From what they knew, these drivers were from the renegade clan, The _Epsilon_ _Clan _or The 'Coyote' Clan as they were nicknamed. They were the undesirables of the Lupus population, and with good reason.

Mikey was jumpy about going up against them without more backup, but he'd managed to convince Lea to come with them just this once. He was tracking them by scent, following to attack from behind when the signal came. Naturally, he was out of sync with the others in case the sound gave him away.

"_I see them_," Ben said suddenly into the silence.

"_I _smell_ them_." Mikey growled.

"_Phew! What is that? Ever heard of deodorant?_" Kevin gave a hacking cough.

"_Ssh!_" everyone hissed.

"_That's the Nakjas_," Mikey informed him. "_They can't breath nitrogen rich air, which is why they're banned from Earth and Re'ath. Not that it's ever stopped them before…_"

"_Nak-yars…what?_" Ben asked.

"_Nak-yas. It's spelt with a 'j'. You heathens with your twenty-six letters and your five vowels and your silly little half vowel…_"

Well, at least now they knew what livestock they were after. The Nakjas were something akin to sheep and cows; they provided hide, milk, fur and ivory, and made good pets according to Mikey. Now that _that_ little mystery was sorted out…

"Ssh!" Steph shifted her perch. "I can hear something…"

Gwen strained her ears, and suddenly there came a sifting sound from below. Before they could react, a pair of immense wolves prowled by beneath Gwen's position. They were terrifying to look at; a seething mass of muscle and fur, augmented by the thick wire like structures that ran along their backs, encircling their heads and encompassing their stocky legs. One of them snatched at something in the air, making the metal clink together, and muttered something in a guttural snarl. They padded on until they were out of earshot, and Gwen breathed a sigh of relief.

She nearly screamed when something landed beside her with a dull thud. Wide-eyed, looking up at her attacker, she saw one bright blue disc floating in the dark profile of a wolf.

"Lea," she breathed. "You scared the life out of me."

He nuzzled her in greeting before leaning over the edge of the outcropping. "Doesn't look good…"

"_You okay?_" Mikey asked anxiously. "_They went up your way and_-"

"It's another group. There's more than I thought…"

"_Bloody hell_…"

"_How many more?_" Kevin asked ominously.

"Enough for us to deal with. I reckon about half a dozen at least."

"Great," Steph seemed to deflate.

"_Err…guys? Five just passed me by, and I don't think these were the ones you were tracking…_" Ben mumbled.

"Jesus Fecking Christ," Lea crouched down low and swung his head back and forth. "Were they wearing anything?"

"Just some weird metal thing, but…"

"Battle harnesses." Lea stood up again. "Ben, we need something to outnumber them. Anything on the play list?"

"A few…what do we do now?"

"Gwen," Lea looked down at her. "Can you get yourself over to the other end?" he nodded at the western mouth.

She nodded, and started sifting through her mind for a translocation spell. Steph had to stay put since she would certainly attract attention if she took off from this position. Lea started planning out a strategy with the guys, and by the time Gwen was ready, they were raring to go.

"Get yourself over to the west side and wait for the flare," Lea nudged her arm before lightly jumping down onto the trail below. "You won't miss us," and with that he bounded silently down the path.

"_Here we bloody go_…" Mikey sighed before Gwen set her spell in motion.

It was simple enough to cast, but she lost her bearings in the gloom when she arrived, until she found the moon, and navigated her way to the pass. Squatting down in the darkness, she waited for the signal.

After what felt like only five minutes, a bright purple light filled the night sky and a terrible howling arose from all sides. Gwen ran blindly towards the light, tripped over a concealed tree root, and went tumbling down the slope. Before she could pick herself up something hit her squarely in the gut and sent her flying.

Looking up Gwen had just enough time to see the sharp, yellowing teeth snap in her face before she was knocked again from the right. There was a horrible, feral snarl and soft fur rubbing against her cheek.

Mikey was standing over her in a defensive stance, trembling with one long aggressive note trailing from his throat.

Gwen pulled herself up and summoned her strength, creating discs of manna in her hands to hurl into the fray. Mikey, once clear of her, pounced on the offending wolf, ripping and tearing at its throat.

It was utter chaos, at least from the drivers' point of view; the herd of Nakjas they had been chivvying along was running in all directions, bleating and screaming in panic. Humungosaur carved a path of destruction to reach Kevin, who was trying to fend off four wolves at once. Lea ran to his aid, but got barred by three more; all of them were wearing the same harness, with varying amounts of spikes and nasty looking attachments on them.

Gwen ran to intercept them, but she was too late; Kevin got thrown up against a dead tree, which splintered and sent a shower of wood flying in every direction. Mikey tossed his head and howled painfully, rubbing at his eyes, giving his attacker the chance to get a grip at his throat.

In a blind panic, Gwen ran to Kevin, being the closest, and threw up a shield before the ringleader could pounce on him. He turned on her, fur bristling and teeth bared in a grim smile.

Just before he attacked, Steph hurtled out of nowhere with a screech that hurt their ears, and landed heavily on his back, digging her talons in deeply and pecking at the eyes. Gwen took the momentary distraction to run to Kevin's aid; he was slowly picking himself up, groaning as he clutched his head.

"Are you okay?" she asked, helping him to his feet.

"Argh…that hurt…"

She pressed her hand to his forehead and focused on the blossoming bruise. With the pain relieved somewhat, Kevin turned back to the fight, fists flying in every direction as he yelled. Gwen ran to Mikey next, who was trying to fend off another Lupus with one eye closed.

Gwen summoned enough force to throw a barrier up to knock the attacker off his feet and pin him to the ground. She took Mikey's shaking head in her heads and healed his smarting eye. He blinked, nose and ears twitching gratefully; before he could thank her, the other Lupus burst free of its bindings and hurled himself at them.

Slowly but surely, they over came the Epsilon Lupus one by one. Gwen took down four all by herself, either with a charm or by knocking them out with a manna blow or throwing them against a rock. She and Mikey teamed up to take out another two, before joining Lea and Ben (also in Lupus form) to take out three more.

The last one, a scrawny looking puce coloured wolf with one pink eye, scrambled for a pathway into the trees, but Kevin managed to wrestle it to the ground, despite its protests. Lea pounced, pinning him against the dusty ground and bared his teeth against its throat. He spoke in a low voice, in the Lupus language, most likely threatening worse if he tried to escape, and the poor younger wolf whimpered pitifully, agreeing to whatever terms Lea put down.

"Well!" Mikey trotted over the Gwen, rubbing his head against her arm like an oversized housedog. "That went well!

"Get off!"

"Problem, Gwendolyn?" he gave her a lopsided grin, tongue lolling from his mouth.

"You're covered in mud!" she pushed him away.

Mikey forced her up against an over hanging rock and rubbed himself against her, getting her covered in muck and filth. "Eww! Gross!" she threw a weak shield up at him and he bounced back, springing into the air and prancing off.

"We need to round up the Nakjas before the Plumbers get here," he said, trotting past Ben. "Come on, I need a hand."

They bounded off into the gloom together, and Lea called to Gwen. "Keep an eye on this one." He said gruffly, stalking past stiffly, as though he'd pulled a muscle in his hind leg. "He's agreed to cooperate. Any trouble and I'll deal with it," he snarled back at the youth, who cowered against the ground, whining quietly.

Gwen stood over him uncertainly, but he refused to look up. Then she noticed that his side had been badly scratched, and blood was pooling on the dirt below. Very gently, she laid a hand on his side; he jumped and tried to back away, whining more loudly.

"Ssh," she soothed, "I want to help."

Either he didn't understand her or he didn't want to listen; he backed up, cringing in fear and pain. Kevin steamed over to her side, ready to pound him into the dust, but Gwen held him back.

"Look, he's hurt." She pointed out, pushing him out of the way and grabbing a fistful of fur.

The Lupus whipped his head back and forth but made no move to harm her. Gwen murmured the healing charm over his wound, and encouraged the skin to pinch together over the raw flesh. He lay under the light in Kevin's hands, panting heavily from fear, but the pain in his face was eased.

"Tyo…" he said heavily, still breathing unevenly.

"Sorry?" Gwen asked.

"Tyo…" he said again, turning his head to look at her, his pink eye contrasting with the now visible amethyst one; his eyes clashed with the colour of his dirty fur, which was still soaked in blood. "Tyo muusta kree,"

"Caero," Kevin said, and he relaxed at once, curling into a ball and rubbing his flea bitten ear against the ground like a cat.

Gwen looked up at him in amazement. "You know what he's saying?"

"It's a dialect the Lupus use in the Null Void." He said simply, bringing her up short. "I've met him before."

The Lupus opened his pink eye to look at Kevin before closing it again. "Tay-maska…"

"You okay?" Kevin turned his attention solely onto Gwen.

"Yeah, why?" she asked, reaching up to check her face. Her hand came away covered in blood. "Oh!" she couldn't even remember getting hit across the scalp.

"There's a stream over there," he nodded to their left. "I'll keep an eye on him."

The wolf raised his head, interest piqued by his voice. "Rakas?"

Kevin ignored him.

"Le…Levin. Kim Eechoe Lathar. Rakas mearad deenuh?" he seemed a lot more relaxed now.

"Go on," Kevin gave Gwen a small shove before looking back at the Lupus. "I got this."

Gwen, slightly miffed, made her way to the stream and splashed water onto her face. Her scalp stung where she was bleeding, but it wasn't too bad. She had more or less fixed herself up when there came a terrible scream from nearby. She spun round, ready to fight, but nothing came.

There was a scuffle from the clearing where the fight had taken place, but nothing seemed too wrong. Then something hit her from behind, and she dropped to the ground, rolling to regain her balance and spring to her feet.

It was another Lupus; this one was wearing a much thicker harness, decked out in lethal looking hooks and spikes, and his canines were much longer, curving over his closed lips, which drew back in a snarl to reveal an array of crooked, yellow teeth stained a horrible red colour. His fur looked dark in the faint light of the moon; not black, but like an absence of light, a black hole. He placed one paw forward slowly, deliberately, before he pounced in one fluid movement.

Gwen had no time to react, it was all so quick. Something sliced into her midriff, before something else locked around her throat. She couldn't defend herself fast enough, but the scream she heard echoing around the valley must have drawn attention, it felt as though the sound had been ripped from her lungs.

When the weight against her chest was removed, Gwen slumped to the ground, unable to support herself; her mind registered dimly all the signs of going into shock. She heard Steph's Avis scream from above, and a cacophony of howls as foot falls thundered past.

A hand pressed itself against her neck, feeling for a pulse, before cradling her head against someone's chest. She forced herself to open her eyes, and saw Kevin's face swimming in a sea of painful tears; she couldn't focus straight, but she could imagine his expression.

Everything went black, but she could still hear and feel; the terrible snarls had died down somewhat, and she could hear Mikey swearing and cussing violently. Her head pounded, and her chest felt like she'd been branded with a white-hot iron.

"I'm gonna bloody kill him!" Steph shrieked, beating her wings so the air swirled around Gwen's face.

"Hey…" something cold and wet swept past her cheek before something warm and rough lapped at her neck. "Is she conscience?"

"I dunno," a hand passed over her face. "Who was that?"

"The _real_ ringleader." Mikey spat. He sat down heavily beside them and laid his head in Gwen's lap. "I've heard of the guy, but I've never seen him before. Dont Gaiyo or something random. Steph's run off the get a med kit," he added, snuffling at Gwen's hand. "Hellooo, Gwen? Can you hear me?"

She mustered the strength to raise her hand and lay it on his head. If it weren't for the fact that she was lying in agony and unable to move, Gwen might have been hacked off when Mikey started licking her wounds, but she remembered that Lupus saliva had antiseptic properties, and he was cleaning them out.

"Don't take this the wrong way," he said in between licks. "But your blood actually doesn't taste half bad."

Gwen felt her lungs contract in response, trying to laugh, but her ribs were aching.

"Out of the way, medic coming through! Mikey, move your hairy ass outta the way!" Gwen was torn from Kevin's arms, and Mikey's warm furry presence was also removed.

Steph laid her down on a tarp of some sort and started tending to her wounds. "Jesus Gwen…these are deep…"

"Need a hand?" Kevin's voice filtered through the medicated fog in Gwen head.

"Here, take this…keep the pressure here, it'll stop the bleeding long enough for me to bandage this up."

Something pressed against her abdomen, and Gwen felt a cough bubble up her throat and burst from her lips. Something trickled down her chin, before something else cool and wet mopped it up, and she heard someone curse.

"Hang on, hold this." A ripping noise filled the air, and it was suddenly much colder. "Oh, come off it." Steph's blunt voice barely cut through the fog surrounding Gwen's mind. "I know you fantasize about her in her underwear anyway."

Gwen was beyond caring what anyone said, the pain in her chest and stomach was over taking all her other senses.

XOXOX

Kevin could have killed Steph.

True, though, like every other hormonal teenager under the sun, Kevin had his fantasies about the girl he liked being unclothed, but he hadn't envisioned it happening like this.

Steph had had to rip Gwen's shirt open to reach the gashes below her stomach; her fair skin was ghostly pale in the floodlight that Mikey was holding, his back turned respectfully on the scene while Kevin and Steph tended to her.

Was it just God teasing him, or was there another reason why Gwen had chosen to wear a lacy bra today? That, thankfully, had stayed on, but her shirt was lying alongside her in ruins. Her skin was marred by several long gashes, all lying in different directions from where the Alpha had mauled her.

Steph remained objective, cleaning the wounds out before dressing them with bandages. Still, her throw away comment had stung Kevin almost as much as seeing Gwen in pain. There was one particularly nasty wound that encompassed her collarbone before leaving a jagged line across her left breast. The bra had sustained some damage, and was oozing a sickly black coloured liquid as the blood clotted.

After sealing the gash below Gwen's navel, Steph slapped Kevin's hands away from keeping pressure on the wounds and said, "Can you just sod off over there for a moment?" she looked pointedly at the weeping wound on her breastbone, and Kevin took the hint.

He shuffled off, tying not to think about what Steph was doing, and bumped into the lanky Lupus, who was cowering in a corner again. He cracked an eye open at the sound of footsteps, and became more alert when he saw it was Kevin.

"Up?" he said in the Lupus _Void Slang_. It was the equivalent of saying 'wassup?'

"Your matey tried to kill one of ours," Kevin snapped back, venting his anger at him.

The Lupus was called Djon, an old acquaintance of Kevin's from the Null Void. He lifted his head and shook it apologetically. "Didn't want be here, honest! Got forced into it like."

"Why you here?"

"Dont trying to smuggle Nakjas to Osmos 5. Bad, very bad smell. Can't stand being here. Why you here?"

"Plumbers," he showed Djon his badge.

The wolf leapt up in surprise. Poor kid was half scared to death; he'd ended up in the Null Void by accident, and he'd been bullied into joining a crime ring just to survive. Kevin remembered he had been a nice guy, but too cowardly to try and better his situation. Djon stood before Kevin now, bowlegged and trembling, head lowered in shame.

"You get let out. You leave. Dont get mad and go crazy. Been planning this for months, _years_. Many moons, many tides. Wanted to leave, go home. Home burnt to ground. Nowhere to go. Had to stay, not want to, had to."

Kevin felt sorry for him; Djon was even younger than him, just thirteen. He'd shared meals with him when Kevin had first gone to the Null Void, the closest thing to friend you could get in there. But Djon was a fraidy cat; he couldn't help him so Kevin hadn't tried making friends, more intent on saving his own skin. Even so, the way he looked up at him hopefully made Kevin wonder…

"Lea?" he called over his shoulder.

He towered over Kevin's shoulder in a heartbeat. Djon whined and tried to bury himself in the dust. "What is it?"

"You think we could get this guy some help?"

Lea bent down and sniffed at Djon, who meekly whined, tail thumping rhythmically against the ground in appeasement.

"Churl," Lea snorted. That was a universal insult for _coward_.

"Churl, yes." Djon sat up and then back down again. "Curl. No choice, never choice. Wish were so not."

Lea changed tack, asking direct questions in a less threatening manner, and Djon was eager to impart his knowledge, especially when he found it would help him stay out of prison. Kevin added his own two cents worth, and Lea grumbled about 'seeing what he could do'.

Dont Gaiyo had been knocked out cold by Fourarms, and was now trussed up against a tree, still out for the count. Ben was glowering around the clearing at large before he stalked over to Kevin and Lea.

"_Well_?" he demanded.

"This one's willing to cooperate. Apparently he got dragged into this against his will." Lea was padding around, waiting for the Plumbers to arrive in force. "Friend of Kevin's, apparently. I hope you can vouch for him," Lea added, passing Dont and curling his lips. "We've got Jos of the Prairie Clan a' coming, and he's not going to like this."

"Aww, _what_?" Mikey groaned, standing in his human form with the light blazing over his shoulder so Steph could see what she was doing.

"Yes," Lea snarled, pacing with greater speed. "He's the head of a Plumber division." He added to Kevin. "The most ruthless bastard on Re'ath. There's a history between us…" he left it at that, and the savage look in his eyes dissuaded any further questioning.

"Anyone have spare clothing?" Steph asked, looking over the slight rise where she sat. "A jumper or coat or something?"

"Here," Ben reached for the circle on his chest, and dissolved into a scrawny teenager before pulling off his jacket. "Will this do?" he walked over to Steph, who met him half way, snatched it from his hand, and ran back to Gwen.

Lea started telling Ben and Kevin about this Jos who was coming, but Kevin didn't pay much attention, and it slipped completely when Steph came over to them with Gwen in her arms, wrapped up in Ben's jacket. She still had her eyes closed, but there was more colour in her cheeks.

Mikey slid down the slope, phasing in one fluid motion, and trotting over to Djon. He flinched, and tried to hide, but Mikey stood over him, and reached down to grab his ear with his teeth. It was a friendly sort of trusting gesture, and Mikey pulled upward; Djon responded by grabbing a mouthful of the ruff around his neck and tugging.

Steph deposited Gwen in Kevin's arms, and he sat down by an old tree trunk with her, stroking her matted hair and murmuring her name.

Her bright green eyes opened once before clamping shut again. "Where am I?" she groaned.

"Ssh," Kevin put a hand over her eyes and she obligingly dozed off.

"Okay people, head count," Lea had taken full control of the situation, and started bossing the others around, beginning with checking the captives in case of an escape.

Djon slowly crept over to Kevin; he glowered at the Lupus' bold move, but that didn't dissuade him. He stopped four feet away from them and laid his head on the ground, turning to bear his throat as a sign of submission.

"Yours?"

"Uh?"

"Yours…your bitch, she yours?"

The word for any female of any race in this dialect translated as bitch, though it had none of the negative connotations it did in English. Kevin nodded brusquely, and Djon shuffled forward again shyly until his nose was mere inches from Gwen's hand.

"Good smell." He said, sniffing the air. "Nice bitch. Keep. Good smell."

"Strawberry," Kevin grinned suddenly.

"No strawberry. Warm, kind, _good_. Good smell. Good bitch. Keeper." He licked her hand. "Help me. Heal, not have to but do anyway. I thank, I thank. _Tyo, tyo_." Interesting that he didn't pick up on the fruity element of her scent, but Kevin didn't ask further.

At that moment, there came a bright light, and then shouting as a squadron infiltrated the clearing. Lea was suddenly at his side, nudging Kevin's shoulder.

"I'll need you to back me up. We'll need all the support we can get. Ben's not going to get us very far with this guy." Kevin didn't want to leave Gwen, but Lea had an answer to that too. "Mikey will sit with her. If you want your friend here to get off lightly I need you to come and help argue his case."

"Rakas?" Djon shuddered.

Kevin conceded, carefully laying Gwen down on a dry, clear patch of ground; Mikey scuttled over and curled himself around her, tail to nose, eyes blazing as he watched the Plumbers file by.

A huge wolf, almost as big as Dont Gaiyo and as white as the driven snow strolled up at a leisurely pace, and paused to sniff in disdain. "I _did_ wonder what the smell was. The Grassland brats and the Tennyson Twins. Oh, and an Fire Avis, how lovely."

Kevin instantly took a dislike to the guy.

Lea pulled himself up to his full height, bristling with palpable authority, and strode forth to meet him. Mikey growled quietly to himself, but made no move to follow. Djon head butted Kevin's hand, seeking reassurance.

He patted his ear absentmindedly, saying, "Nasty wolf has peanut for brain."

Djon barked with laughter before swinging his head up to the sky. "Never forget Levin. Always had remark, always will. So true, very true. Always true." Then he lowered his head, and started swaying back and forth like a snake charmer. "Always true to…always true to…" he left the tense open, something that wasn't used in speaking unless there was a significant meaning behind it.

Kevin shrugged it off as the ramblings of an overtired, over taxed, overly young Lupus.

XOXOX

When Gwen finally came round, it was quiet, and light was beginning to stain the sky. She tried to sit up, but fell over again as a bout of nausea hit her. Someone said her name, but before she could reply her stomach muscles clenched, and she threw herself sideways, spilling the contents of her stomach into a bush.

A pair of warm hands – one round her waist, the other her forehead – held her upright until her body stopped convulsing. Her throat burned painfully and her whole body ached like she had been beaten all over.

"Okay?" Mikey said over her shoulder.

Gwen nodded dumbly, wiping bile from her lips.

"Here," he handed her a bottle and held her upright while she washed her mouth out. He gave her another flask and told her to sip; it was a bitter, herbed taste like Miley's medicines, but it cleared her head.

"She awake?" Kevin's voice cut through her like a dagger.

"Yeah. We're not feeling too good, right Gwen?" Mikey pulled her up, trying to get her to speak. She just stared back with unseeing eyes, wanting nothing more than to curl up and sleep.

"Here," warm, hard arms took her, and she groped blindly towards the sound of his voice.

Mikey walked away, and Steph called something over to them, but it was all lost on Gwen. Kevin put one arm under her legs and swept her up off the ground. She couldn't remember making the journey back to Ship, who had been hiding in a small cave all this time. She couldn't remember the ride home, or arriving on her street.

She did, however, remember making it over the threshold of her bedroom door, being lowered into bed, and Kevin kissing her forehead. He said something, but it's meaning was lost on her; she only registered the low baritone of his voice, before she felt the soft coverlet lull her to sleep.

XOXOX

**Mwhaha cliff-hangers :) I'm planning on doing a follow up chapter and then Trade Off (or possibly a follow up on Trade Off, I'll see how it rolls)**

**Still lacking somewhat in feedback, so I have no idea if this story's gone off the rails or not. Please review and let me know what you think!**

**xxx**


	25. Recovery

**AN: again with the lame titles… this has been a bit longer in the making than I would have hoped, but family stuff cropped up on Friday, then I spent the weekend cleaning my room on pain of death xD so progress was slow**

**But its here now, and I probably won't update until the weekend again cause I have loads of revision to do for mock exams xD **

**Anyways, read ad enjoy!**

_**Recovery**_

It must have been late afternoon when the slamming of a door woke Gwen up. A bird was perched on her windowsill outside, singing a pretty tune. Pushing the covers away, Gwen tried to get up, but fell back down again.

One of the last things she remembered was Steph wrapping her in something…green. She was wearing a pair of ratty old gym shorts, and no top; her whole abdomen was covered in bandages.

Oh yeah, that's right…that wolf tried to eat her, _that's_ why she felt like crap.

Her heart thudded painfully under a large dressing over her left breast; the worst was the one that was constricting her diaphragm, making it impossible to breathe. Gwen surveyed the room, trying to find any clues as to what had happened, and saw Ben's jacket loafing on the floor at the foot of the bed, as well was a flask of something on her bedside table next to the picture frame of her, Steph, Ben and Kevin from months ago.

Closing her eyes, Gwen let herself drift, letting her mind go completely blank; it helped her deal with the pain.

It was a minor annoyance when the door opened, but she didn't open her eyes to look up until she heard footsteps crossing the room.

"What do you want?" she groaned, throwing an arm up to shield her eyes from the light.

"Err, I've got your breakfast! I mean, lunch…tea…"

Gwen realised it was Kevin, and fought to bring herself back to reality. It didn't occur to her as to why he was here on a school day, and that she wasn't wearing a top until she heard something being put down forcefully on the table and a loud cough.

Then it hit her.

She scrabbled to cover herself up with the comforter before looking up at him. Kevin was studiously inspecting a section of wall until she croaked, "Could you get me a shirt?"

Kevin rifled through her chest of drawers and grabbed the first one he found; an obnoxiously loud pink one Ben had bought her for her fifteenth birthday. He handed it to her before retreating across the room with his back turned. It took a while before Gwen could get the damn thing on, because the bandages restricted her movement and made it a pain to sit up. Eventually though, she got it on, and said awkwardly, "Ready."

Kevin turned to look at her with relief before picking up the tray and laying it on her lap. "You could sleep through a nuclear war and not wake up," he grinned suddenly, losing the grim look from before.

"I can't remember…what happened? We were chasing those Lupus…"

"We didn't figure the ringleader hiding until the others were dealt with. He caught us off guard," Kevin's eyes hardened for a moment before he took her hand, which she suddenly noticed was wrapped up in gauze. "I don't think Dont Gaiyo could walk away from us. Mikey got pretty mad…when the Plumbers came he was coming round and he couldn't move his front left leg."

Gwen didn't like to think of Mikey as a ruthless killer, but she knew he would have flown off the handle in defence of a friend.

"Steph's beak's out of joint too," Kevin chuckled darkly. "She was gonna gut him until Lea flung her into a tree. It was kinda funny to watch."

Gwen tried to sit up, but had to rely on Kevin's arm for balance. She looked down at the tray, and her stomach growled in appreciation; eggy-bread with strips of bacon and a narrow necked glass of orange juice, her favourite.

It was embarrassing when she had to ask for help with eating, since she couldn't move her arms easily, and nearly tipped the juice down herself. Kevin patiently helped her by cutting the bread up and helping her hold her fork. She wouldn't have minded so much, if it weren't for the fact that something inside her bridled at having to rely on anyone to carry out such basic tasks like feeding herself.

Kevin tactfully didn't say anything, though she knew he could come up with a dozen comments in three seconds about her situation. Instead, he said nothing until she had finished, and he'd stacked everything up neatly and pushed it to one side.

"You okay?" he said eventually.

Gwen let herself flop back on the pillow and groaned. "No…I feel like someone put me through a blender and turned me into a smoothie." Her whole body smarted painfully with each movement, restricted and amplified further by the wrappings around the worst of her wounds.

Kevin snorted but didn't laugh. "You look more like a mummy if I'm honest."

Gwen tried to swat at him, but winced when the motion sent a fresh paroxysm of pain down her arm.

"Urgh…"

Something warm closed round her hand, and she forced herself to look up. Kevin was right next to her, holding her battered hand in both of his. "You scared me back there…"

"What happened? How long was I out?"

"About two days. We brought you home and you slept all through yesterday. Your parents had to get back to work today, and your mom didn't want you on your own if you woke up."

Two days? Wait…when had they gone on that mission? It must be Monday or Tuesday now…

"Why are you here?" she asked, her mind slowly filing the facts into the right order.

"Your mom wanted someone here when you woke up."

"How sweet…" Gwen closed her eyes, wincing as the muscles in her arm started twinging.

"What? No lecture about skipping school?" he teased.

"You know your problem is?" she tried to point an accusatory finger and managed to aim at her bedroom door over his shoulder instead. "You…" she couldn't articulate just what his problem was.

"You're delirious." He stated simply, putting a hand over her eyes. "You need to sleep."

Gwen raised her hands clumsily and tried to force his away. "Go away. You stupid boy…"

"You sound like your grandmother."

"You sound like _your_ grandmother…" she wasn't even sure what she was saying anymore.

"You never met my grandmother." Kevin said simply.

Gwen grabbed a fistful of shirt and pulled him down so that their faces were level. "Shut up, I knew that…"

"Go to sleep, Gwen."

"No," she snapped, trying to hang on to consciousness, but failing. "I'm not done yelling at you yet…"

He said something else, but she didn't hear. The struggle to remain awake was too much, and she slid under again.

XOXOX

Kevin was dosing when Gwen's mother came home, bringing River with her. She made the due amount of fuss over her daughter before leaving the two of them to it.

"So," River said simply, clearly unsure what else to do with herself as she tossed an apple from hand to hand. "How is she?"

"Crazy," he snorted as she unloaded a few jars from her rucksack. "She's just babbling on in between naps. She tried to slap me and ended up hitting the headboard instead."

"Well, knowing you, you probably deserved to be slapped but hey…" River frowned over a label before shrugging and placing it on the bedside table with the others. "Okay! Miley's off giving Intergalactic Rabies shots, so she asked me to drop these off. Can't stay long, I've got an appointment with some random person…" she checked a slip of paper in her pocket. "Magister…Buh? Jonas or something. Anyway, this one," she held up what looked like a jar of strawberry jam. "Goes on her toast, it's to stop spread of infection and gangrene setting in and so on. This one," she brandished a sweet smelling blue balm at him, "is for the wounds. Miley will come and deal with that later. And, _this_ one…" an icky brown liquid swilled around the last bottle. "Ten mil thrice a day with each meal, and a fourth before she goes to bed. Might I suggest diluting it with half a cup of cranberry juice, it takes the aftertaste away." She grimaced. "It's the best thing to get Gwen back on her feet but it is _the_ most disgusting thing known to Mankind." She placed it on the table top again. "You have been forewarned,"

"Kay," Kevin yawned widely.

"Welp," River checked her watch. "Gotta run." She looked down at her dusty jeans and askew shirt. "Gotta change. God knows what I'm actually gonna wear, but…"

"What is it?" Kevin asked before she could leave.

"Oh, just some formality." She waved the comment away. "Apparently one of the people I worked with before put in a good word for me to someone who was sort of linked to the Plumbers," she sighed heavily. "And now the entire organisation wants me to work on a million different projects."

"You're not leaving are you?" that left a pang. River couldn't just up and _leave_ them, could she?

"No, you muppet," she smiled briefly, ruffling his hair and grabbing her bag. "Course not. You'll have to purge me with fire before I swan off like that. Plus, I'm not fond of the idea of leaving Earth. I'm _staying_ here." She tapped her heel against the carpet. "I really do have to go. I'll swing by later to see how she's doing,"

"Kay then."

"See ya!" and with that River disappeared out the door. She ran back in again a few moments later saying, "Dang it, I forgot about the sheet music,"

"Here," he'd forgotten as well. Kevin handed the crumpled pieces of paper over to her.

"Cool, I'll have a look at this after I've seen this person…Bye!" and she ran out the door.

It wasn't until much later that Miley arrived, and she sent Kevin downstairs while she sorted Gwen out. He was nervously watching the news from the other end of the sofa to Frank Tennyson when the front door burst open and Ben fell over the threshold, flanked by Steph and Mikey.

"What the hell happened to _you_?" he demanded, forgetting Gwen's father was there as he took in their appearances.

"We had to fight off the Forever Knights," Steph scowled, nursing a nasty bruise on her forehead. "_Without _you."

"Steph broke her arm," Mikey explained, flopping down onto the sofa beside Kevin. "It's mended itself, but that means the head injury's taking longer to heal." He had a wan look about him, as though he were suffering internally. Then again, he'd just gone through a mission with Steph and Ben using naught but his wits. Poor guy must be dieing inside.

"How's Gwen?" Ben demanded, pushing Steph out of the way.

Hyper aware of Frank's stare boring into his side, Kevin said evenly, "She's really tired and needs to rest. And she wasn't making much sense earlier." In truth, the last time she had woken up before Miley arrived she had been asking why she could see Pluto in the corner of her room, proclaiming that Pluto was no more than a pile of Incursion rubble now.

"When can we see her?" Ben insisted, tense like a coiled spring.

"Give Miley a chance," Mikey snapped, arm thrown over his eyes and wincing as a loud clang came from the kitchen. "She'll do the best she can. Unless you think you can do better, by all means! Go upstairs and lend a hand,"

It was clear from the scowls on everyone's faces that the day had not gone well for them, so Kevin kept his mouth shut and made no further comment. He wasn't mentally prepared to have a shouting match with anyone, and he'd be a few steps further away from Frank's good books if he started punching someone.

Just as the strained silence between them was becoming too much to bear, Miley padded down the stairs quietly and entered the living room. Ben and Steph clambered for an explanation and Kevin pushed them both out of the way so he could hear the diagnosis first. Mikey trailed along behind them, slightly unsteady on his feet. His sister waved for silence before she delivered her verdict.

"Gwen's fine, she just needs rest." She said soothingly, and Kevin felt himself relax somewhat, only then realising just how wound up he was. "As long as she sleeps enough and keeps the wounds clean she should be fine-"

Everyone burst out at once words to the effect of 'Can we go see her?' and Miley sighed impatiently, moving out of their way. It was a free for all up the stairs, but for once Ben didn't complain when Kevin shoved him out of the way at the top; he was too focused on getting a sensible word from Gwen to care about the others.

She was sitting up in bed, propped against a pile of pillows, looking more alert then she had earlier, and smiled as they ran in.

"Gwen!" Mikey bounced to the foot on the bed and patted her feet through the duvet. "How's it hanging?"

Kevin slid onto the bed beside her and tucked her into his arms. She complied, yawning widely and closing her eyes.

"You all right?" Steph asked from the doorway, hovering as Ben shoved past to demand a status report.

"I'm fine." She insisted. "Just worn out. And sore…" she winced, pressing a hand against her side.

"Get better soon, yeah?" Mikey said, perching on the end of the bed. "I can't keep myself sane with this lot around."

"Oh, cheers for that Mikey," Steph snarled, glowering at him. "It's nice to know you enjoy spending time with us instead of gadding around with girls the whole time."

Mikey breathed on his fingernails and proceeded to polish them on his black t-shirt. "I never said that. I like hanging with the lads. It's just that Gwen's way better company than you any day, and – ack!"

Steph pounced, and they toppled over onto the floor. "_Die_ thing of evil!" she shrieked.

"Calm down!" Ben began, but Kevin grabbed a fistful of his jacket.

"Just leave them. It's best to let them work out their anger and frustration instead of letting it fester away."

"Wow," Ben stared at him wide eyed. "When did you get so mature?"

"I didn't." Kevin grinned. "It's just funnier to watch them beat each other up." He felt something tap lightly against his side, and looked down to see Gwen's eyes blazing from underneath a thick fringe of red hair. Apparently, she had attempted to slap him. "Problem?" he grinned at her.

"Shut up." She retorted darkly. It was a weak attempt, and she couldn't summon the energy to create a manna disc or form a fist to punch with.

Kevin's heart stopped beating so painfully in his chest, and he pressed his lips against her temple. She made a vain attempt to push him off, which only made his grin widen. If Gwen could fight back somewhat, she was on the road to recovery.

XOXOX

Kevin had been absent from home for the last couple of weeks, and Cari had given up calling and texting, trying to drag it out of him. Mainly because when she called River she found out that there had been an incident and Kevin was looking after Gwen. Apparently, some werewolf type alien had tried to tear her throat out, and in turn had been gutted by the others.

Still, that was no excuse to not come home.

Finally, he did come back, only to sort a few things out and do some work on his computer before he would leave again. His excuse was that Steph had arranged a sleep over, and then they were going to some lake the next day for some R&R. Much as Cari was relieved that he was happy again, she did wish he would hang round for a bit longer before running off again. It felt nice having him around the house, and it felt like she was missing so much of what little childhood he had left.

While she was sorting laundry, Cari listened to Kevin's music through the open door of his bedroom. The phone rang from upstairs, and someone came running down to the basement; Crystal raced into his room and shouted, "Ben's on the phone for you!"

"Thanks," he said absentmindedly, and she ran out again back to the living room. "Sup?" Kevin said.

Cari went into his room to use the extra table space to do folding. He looked up to acknowledge her presence, and then went back to his computer screen.

"Yeah, I know. I texted her earlier and I didn't get a response. I dunno, Ian's not around…nah, Gwen's up at the farm with Mikey." He listened intently for a moment before laughing. "Kay. But I had nothing to do with it. Listen, did Steph say if…? Huh? Yeah, all right. Cool,"

Cari tuned him out until she heard him stand up, and a horribly high-pitched note filled the air. She looked up and saw Kevin wincing, holding the phone at arms length. He reached up and pulled at his cheek, removing the mask and dumping it on the table.

"Sorry, the feed back on the mask just killed the phone. I think it got busted when Steph punched me yesterday. Anyways," he left the room, apparently forgetting that Cari was still there.

She couldn't help but sigh at the vacant space he had left. That boy…

Over come with curiosity, she crept over to the computer to look at what he was doing. A small window was open over Internet Explorer, telling him the print job was being sent. Underneath it was a Facebook page, littered with photographs, and not knowing entirely why, Cari sat down in the chair and clicked on the first one.

The Album claimed to be Steph's _Camera Crap_, and the first picture was of a signpost just outside of town, proclaiming the boundaries of Bellwood. The next few were of Ben and Steph larking around, followed by a few more of that Michael character. The ones towards the end were the more entertaining: Gwen and 'Mikey' were caught jumping off a bench at angle, giving the illusion of flying; Kevin had Steph in a head lock, arms flailing all over the place as they tried to pin each other to the ground; Gwen sandwiched between Kevin and Mikey, with Ben tacked on the end at a lower level. This one made Cari laugh out loud; Ben and Gwen were giving Mikey odd looks, as he in turn looked at Ben, a Popsicle stuck to his tongue which was hanging out of his mouth, while Kevin was munching on his own, staring into the space beyond the frame. His dreamlike expression was funny to look at.

There were other ones, like the one of Gwen and Mikey on a bay horse pulling faces at the camera, and the one with River sitting on a table in a workshop with a guitar resting over her shoulder, watching Kevin pull an engine to pieces on the floor. Steph and Ben had commented on it below, with the words, '_trooperrr! :D'_

The next one after that, River was standing side on to the camera, looking at her shoes while Steph and Kevin stood across from her; Steph was pointing at her tank top, and Kevin was leaning against the wall, his signature smirk in place. The caption below read,_ 'riv's speed bump – quote kev :p'_

The very last one had all five teenagers crammed into the small space under a tree at the park. Mikey held a skateboard like an electric guitar, his second and third fingers bent over touching his thumb, pointer and pinkie facing skywards; he had his tongue stick out as he grinned. Ben was lying on his back, blissfully unaware of the others while Steph sat at the edge of the group, looking off to the right in mild confusion. In the middle Gwen was sitting with her legs tucked to one side, holding Devin's old guitar, with Kevin behind her, looking over her shoulder as he placed her fingers over to correct frets.

The only real poser was Mikey, since the others seemed to be unaware that a picture was being taken. Below was the caption '_julie's aMAZing photography skills_'

Nearly everyone had posted a comment below, and Cari took the time to read all of them.

_**Mikey Simcox**__ lol Steph's face! XD_

_**Stephenie Smith**__ i swear it was something shiny! something REALLY shiny!_

_**Mikey Simcox**__ just keep telling yourself that xD and ben's just sat there asleep…_

_**Ben 'Ten' Tennyson **__wasn't asleep! i was resting my kidneys :P_

_**Kevin E. Levin**__ oh look a distraction! :D gwen's music skills are just that bad ;)_

_**Mikey Simcox **__awwwwww it wasn't that bad! 3 you should hear my lame attempt at guitar, your ears will bleed_

_**River Collins**__ you dare profain the holy guitar? :O_

_**Kevin E. Levin **__…its spelt 'profane'_

_**River Collins **__i know what I meant! ;)_

_**Stephenie Smith **__i didn't know there was a hormone for dyslexia ;) aawwwwww pituitary misfire getting you down riv? :D_

_**River Collins**__ there isn't dummy, i'm speed typing xP. so much paper crap to do, so little time! :'(_

_**Mikey Simcox **__SO! how's the profiling going? :P_

_**River Collins**__ terrible, i want to gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon whenever i think about it! :( and can i just take a moment to say, Kevin GIVE ME PROFILE BACK! seriously, i can't compile this….THING without it, and i sorta kinda REALLY need to get my skates on xD_

_**Kevin E. Levin**__ okay okay! i'll bring it tomorrow i swear!_

"Mom?"

Cari looked up guiltily, to find Kevin standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing?"

"Just curious," she said nonchalantly, getting up and going back to her folding. "You never tell me anything about what you get up to when you're not saving the universe."

Kevin snorted derisively, sorting through a pile of sketches on his desk. "I don't think you want to know…"

"As long as you're being sensible," she said lightly.

He laughed out loud at this. "Mom, you've met Steph. You think we _ever_ do anything sensible?"

Cari sighed patiently. "You know what I mean." She said eventually.

"Yeah, and I am. I swear,"

Looking up at his innocent expression, Cari had no doubt he was up to something, but she was sure that he could more or less handle any trouble he landed himself in. He certainly had a strong group of friends to help out if he did get in over his head.

"Anyway, I gotta go pick up Gwen from training. I'll see you in a couple of days," Kevin set about gathering his things.

"And I don't suppose there's any way I could bribe you to stay home for one weekend?" Cari asked heavily.

"Nope," he was rifling through a box of pencils. "Michelle said she'd make waffle's for us. Plus, Mikey's gonna teach Gwen how to Skateboard."

Cari raised an eyebrow at him. "And this is more important than staying at home for more than three nights, _because_…?"

Kevin looked up at her, grinning. He looked just like his father in that moment, it made a lump form in Cari's throat.

"You kidding me? Gwen. On a _skate_board. Being taught by Mikey. Like hell I'm gonna miss this!" it looked as though he were about to say something else, but his cell phone started beeping. "Opps. I gotta get going," he paused long enough to kiss Cari's cheek and say, "Bye!" before he left.

XOXOX

It was already utter chaos at the Smith-Tanner residence before Kevin and Gwen arrived. Apparently, Steph and Mikey had been kicked out of the attic so Erin and Ella could watch _Hannah Montana: The Movie_ on the HD screen, and while Tom was keeping an eye on them, Mel and the Simcox Twins were out with River, and Dylan had gone all the way to DC for a College interview.

It seemed as though Steph and Mikey had been baking, because there was a trail of flour leading from the kitchen to the living room when Gerald let them in. "They're in there," he pointed through the door.

Kevin wanted to beat his head against the wall when he saw what they were up to. Steph's guitar, and also River's, were both out and being played; Steph was rolling on the floor with laughter, and Mikey and Ben were playing music.

_Badly_.

Gwen covered her ears with her hands and tottered over to the sofa where she collapsed. "Please, be quiet, I don't think I can take it…" she moaned.

Mikey stopped his mindless strumming and grinned at her. "Something wrong?"

Kevin nudged her further along the sofa and squeezed in beside her. "We're not feeling so good today." He supplied for her.

Ben continued to jam, and Steph continued to laugh. Mikey threw a cushion at them before turning his attention to Gwen.

"So! How's the wound healing?"

"Oh, it's healing all right…" she said menacingly from under her arm. "It hurts like hell. Plus I got thrashed today by a green belt newbie from another club…"

Kevin wanted laugh, but bit his tongue. Gwen had been in a thoroughly bad mood when he had picked her up, and as much fun as it was winding her up, it wasn't too much fun being the object of her hatred. And he was also worried for his car.

Mikey, on the other hand, did laugh, but not unkindly. "Aww, it'll be okay! I made it to purple in my class, and I still got beat up by the little yellow belts. Mainly cause they were seven years old and I was being nice, but still…"

"Make it stop…" Gwen begged.

"Hey Ben! Look over there!" Mikey yelled.

"Huh?" Ben dropped Steph's guitar and followed Mikey's finger before Mikey pounced on him. "Hey!"

"It was a spider! I swear!" Mikey crowed.

Gerald stuck his head round the door and said, "The cake's done if you want to add the filling,"

Steph was gone so quickly she should have left a dust cloud behind her. Ben threw Mikey off and chased after her.

"Hey!" Mikey heaved himself to his feet and followed suit. "I wasn't done saving you from spiders!"

They left a peaceful silence in their wake. Kevin poked Gwen gently in the ribs to make sure she was still alive.

"Go away…" she groaned, curling into a ball and hiding her face under a cushion. "I've changed my mind, I don't wanna go to the lake tomorrow. I want to crawl into a hole and sleep for the next ten years."

Kevin smothered his laugh, and leant over her, leaning heavily on his right arm, which he placed between her and the back of the sofa. Carefully, he plucked the cushion from her grasp, and grabbed her hands before she could throw them over her face again. Gwen continued to struggle against him, so when he tried to kiss her he caught the corner of her mouth. She raised a hand and pushed his face away so she could sit up straighter and turn to look at him.

"Better?" he asked, trying to smile sincerely but knowing he was smirking.

"Not really." She said flippantly, retreating further away until she was backed into the corner of the sofa and the wall. The playful spark in her eyes propelled Kevin to follow and hem her in. "What are you smirking at?"

Kevin pressed his lips against hers, pulling away as she tried to deepen it. "How about now?"

"No," Gwen sighed dramatically. "Still not quite."

"I can fix that,"

Cheesy had never been his style, but he'd do anything to get a smile out of her. Gwen was more than willing to reciprocate when he advanced again, and wrapped her arms around his neck in response, fingers finding their way into his hair. Kevin put an arm around her back to support both of their weights, but Gwen cringed and he felt her sharp intake of breath as she pulled away.

The wounds from their last mission had healed better and faster than anyone could have hoped, but it was still tender. She bit her lip, pressing her hand against her side; Kevin placed his hand over hers, before slipping it under the hem of her shirt. He pressed his fingers against raw skin, hoping to alleviate some of her pain. Gwen looked him in the eye, and he noticed her ragged breath and her ribs jumping beneath his fingers. As he noticed her breathing was uneven, he was suddenly aware of a spike in her energy levels, though he purposefully blocked any sort of reaction on his part.

Quite apart from the fact that he was terrified of going down that route again, he'd rather throw himself off a cliff than take her energy from her. Even if he still felt he was a monster, he wouldn't sink as low as Darkstar.

"Actually…" Gwen said slowly, closing her eyes and cutting off his view of them. "I feel a lot better now."

"Good," Kevin caressed her cheek with his free hand, leaning in to capture her lips in another kiss.

It was a wonderful little moment until Ben decided to come back into the room.

"Eewww!" he made a loud retching noise that in turn made Kevin want to hit something.

And from the annoyed look on Gwen's face, she was feeling the same way.

"I knew you wanted a moment alone, but I didn't think you'd ditch us just to _make out_," Ben said scathingly.

Kevin was about to spring on him but Mikey bounced into the room, singing at the top of his lungs, "Cake time!" then in a more normal voice, "C'mon, before Steph eats it all!"

Reluctantly Gwen slid out from Kevin's arms and stood up. He followed suit, and they trailed after an over excited Mikey. Ben glowered at Kevin from the doorway, but for once Kevin ignored him. It came as a surprise then when Gwen turned on him and hissed, "Jerk," before storming off to the kitchen.

Ben was about to retaliate, but Kevin laughed. "I said nothing," he reminded the younger boy, following his girlfriend.

"Chocolate cake, Ben!" Steph called to them. "Come on! Mikey's already eaten half of it!"

XOXOX

Steph, Ben and Mikey ran headlong at the ledge over the lake, all screaming at the tops of their lungs.

"Bonsai!"

"Geronimo!"

"I regret nothing!"

"I do wish they'd shut up." Lea snarled. He was lying on his back, attempting to tan and not quite making any progress.

Miley shrugged, helping Taylor pile earth onto the wrapped parcels of leaves that were slowly cooking in a pit of coals; Mel was sitting apart from them, eyes closed and face cast skywards in meditation. Kevin had been watching Taylor and Miley in fascination for the last half an hour; they had gutted a couple of fish, wrapped them up in leaves, tied it together with some string, set a bed of coals in a dugout hole in the ground, and buried it. It was unlike any cooking he'd ever witnessed, and he was bursting with curiosity to know what it tasted like. Taylor insisted you hadn't lived until you tried T'souke cooked salmon, and while Miley and Lea rolled their eyes and smiled indulgently, River had been running through martial art techniques with Gwen and hadn't paid the blindest bit of notice to what anyone else was doing.

Stupidly, Kevin had forgotten his guitar, but Mikey had slung River's in the trunk when they had packed up that morning, so he was idly running through scales, surreptitiously matching chords together under the guise of messing around. It was easier than try to play Gwen's song with her listening to its unfinished melody. He was grateful that River was distracting her this way; neither of them were up to much physical activity, but they ran through katas at a slow pace and then River drilled her on theory.

It left him time to mess around musically while everyone else was otherwise occupied.

Ben and Mikey were ganging up on Steph, throwing handfuls of pondweed that they had dredged up from the bottom of the lake. Miley whipped out River's now rather battered looking laptop and a mini solar panel.

"Now's as good as any time to test this," she said vaguely, plugging it into the power socket.

"What is that?" Kevin asked, pausing in his playing to lean over and inspect the piece of equipment.

"Lea is basically showing off how awesomely cool he is and that he can build remote power packs that rely on green energy." She glowered at her brother, who made a rude hand gesture at her.

"He stole it off Steph," Taylor added, yawning widely. "Don't tell her that, she doesn't know. We want to see how long it takes to notices."

"You look tired," Miley steered the conversation away from more perilous waters. "You all right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Great." Taylor pulled a face. "I'm thrilled and all, but the next few months are gonna be hell…"

"Can't be that bad," Kevin said flippantly, turning back to his chords.

Taylor shorted, dusting the dirt from his hands. "You try living with a pregnant woman. Though if I'm honest it's not that different to her normal state of being, apart from the fact there's a thing the size of my hand in there. And there's more vomiting involved."

"Eww," Lea complained, frowning with his eyes still closed. "I don't want to know."

"I can deal with the mood swings," Taylor said, putting on a bravado that made Miley laugh. "The crying, the throwing up, everything. I just can't stand the food cravings."

"Kicked in yet?" Kevin asked, remembering vaguely the boring health class he had been forced to sit, in which the boys had been lectured at length on what happened to a woman during pregnancy. He wouldn't have paid attention as a rule, but he was interested to know what to expect from River after she had admitted to having three hysterical crying fits in one day, completely freaking out the people around her who happened to be Max's charges.

"Oh yeah," Taylor grimaced. "Fish fingers and custard. I thought I was gonna puke."

Kevin cringed, he _hated_ custard.

"She doesn't even like custard!" Lea complained. "What the hell?"

"She's River," he said, taking out a clasp knife and picking up lump of wood. "I'm not arguing with her weird cravings."

Kevin looked over his shoulder at her; she was adjusting Gwen's guard, and nudging her stance into place before walking around her and going in for a strike. Gwen didn't quite block it, but it was deflected and knocked River off balance. She was saying something, but the sound was overpowered by Steph's screech as she chased Ben into the woods. Mikey bounced off in the opposite direction in his Lupus form, howling.

Gwen and River watched wide eyed as they disappeared from sight, before she turned round and said, "Right. As I was saying…" Gwen laughed, and let River set her guard again.

"So you're not worried about her killing herself?" Lea asked sarcastically.

Miley glowered at him again, but Taylor laid a hand on her forehead and pushed her to the ground. "Riv's fine. It's mostly theory, plus she's been doing okay for the last couple of weeks. It's only the night terrors getting her down."

"Night terrors?" Kevin asked. It was hard to believe anything fazed her by this point, after all the crap she'd put up with from them.

"Oh, you know. Nightmares she doesn't remember…she rolls around screaming about something or other and I have to shake her awake and then she just looks at me with that calm manner she has and says, 'Is there a problem?'" he sighed dramatically. "First it was scorpions," Lea snorted loudly. "Then it was swimming pools,"

"What?" Kevin stared at him.

"Cause River doesn't remember the car crash," Miley explained, "but she remembers going swimming the day it happened. So when she came to, her mind attached a fear from the crash to the last memory she had, which was diving into a pool."

"Since when are you the resident nutcase?" Kevin teased.

Miley made a show of being offended. "I try to fill River's boots, cause sooner or later she's going on maternity leave, and someone's going to have to do her job. Sorry if I disappoint!"

They all laughed. Kevin remembered not being too sure of Miley when they'd first met, but he was much more relaxed in her company now.

"Anyway!" Taylor gave her a shove so he could continue his story. "Scorpions, pools…oh yeah, and toasters."

Kevin couldn't stop himself from laughing. "That's just ridiculous!"

"Claimed it was a sideways moment," Taylor said with a condescending shake of the head. "Strange girl. I'm hoping this is just a phase and she'll grow out of it."

"Doubt it," Lea muttered.

"She has her moments," Miley defended her friend, digging in her satchel for something. "I have some sweets if you guys want any,"

"Oooh I will!" Lea sat up and made a grab for her hand.

"No way you bastard!" she snapped, rolling away to the side, trying to avoid him.

Their spat quickly escalated into full on fight, teeth and claws flying everywhere along with fur. Kevin moved himself out of the way so that River's guitar didn't get damaged; he looked up at Taylor, who was steadily munching his way through the candy.

"Want some?" he offered, watching Miley and Lea trying to eat each other's ears.

"I don't know why I hang out with you guys," Kevin said conversationally. He'd had little to do with Taylor, considering how attached he was to River; this was probably the first time he'd had a conversation with the guy on their own.

"I find myself asking the same question," he said evenly, picking out all the orange pieces. "This doesn't taste like orange…" he lamented.

"So," Kevin struggled to keep the conversation going. "How's River doing?"

"Apart from the hysterics and the nightmares, okay. Better than I thought, anyway. She was freaking out when she told me she was pregnant, but when she calmed down now. To quote Steph-"

"SEADAR!" Steph came barrelling out of nowhere, stampeding over Lea's tail and earning a nip in the butt for her troubles. "Ow!"

"Not quite the quote I was looking," Taylor looked daggers at her retreating back. "But life is good. More or less…" he frowned at the chaos around them. "Maybe I spoke too soon."

Mikey and Ben came out of the wood work, doing a sort of sideways wrestle, snarling at each other and swearing. Kevin watched in fascination as they slowly wound their way over to an outcrop of rocks, only to be pushed over by Steph and fall into the water.

"Die!" Ben screamed, running full tilt towards her, slamming the dial on the omnitrix.

It would have been more effective if he had changed into Humongasaur or Swampfire or something. When Upchuck tripped and went sliding for five metres to end up buried in the dirt, all onlookers started laughing. Looking up briefly, Kevin saw Gwen holding her sides, crying with mirth while River was curled up on the ground, shaking uncontrollably.

When Steph and Mikey finally got over the hilarity, Gwen and River crawled over to the coal pit for a breather. Ben stormed over and glowered at them all.

"You're such a dweeb," Gwen giggled, trying to muffle the sound by shoving her fist into her mouth.

"In my defence, it was Steph's expression that had me going there," River said innocently, toying with the piece of wood Taylor had dumped.

"You two faced liar." He told her, snatching it from her hands.

"Well, it was _mostly_ Steph,"

Ben stalked off, muttering to himself, followed by Lea and Steph. Mikey flopped down beside Gwen and laid back, arms pillowing his head.

"That's the best thing I've seen all month," he said with a grin.

"Weren't you happy that I didn't die last week?" Gwen poked him in the ribs.

"Hey! Don't touch that! I only have one kidney!" he poked her back, in the shoulder so he didn't hurt her.

"Didn't Steph say once she only had on kidney?" Kevin asked, remembering vaguely getting hit in the face over it.

"Oh yeah, it's a common feature among the Avis." River was suddenly in lecture mode.

"What about werewolves?"

"Oh, Mikey's just weird."

"Yeah!" he sat up grinning. "You can't touch the kidney, but I have two spleens."

Gwen gave him a sly look, before aiming a punch at his midriff. "Hey!" Mikey grabbed her wrists and raised them above her head.

"That wasn't an invitation! Silly Gwen, you need to learn to read signals!"

"Get off me!" she snarled.

"Okay!" He threw her hands into the air so she over balanced and fell onto her back. "You did say get off," he said innocently.

Gwen looked about ready to kill, but Kevin wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his side. "Let go," she hissed, fist clenched and glowing deadly pink.

"Oh, stop being such pest Mikey," River threw her guitar case at him, which flopped to the ground a foot away from his position.

After a moment of silent contemplation, he said, "Well that was shit,"

River shrugged, and launched straight into a conversation about the pros and cons of the colour purple with Taylor. Kevin picked up the guitar and started playing Yankee Doodle, Gwen glowered at all concerned, and Mikey fell asleep.

Eventually, everyone congregated to eat, and no more blood was spilt, whether metaphorical or not, as Steph nursed a most likely broken nose over her fish. Mel came by serene as ever and mopped her sister's face up before going off to help dish out the food. It was all going smoothly until River called, "Oh my God I almost forgot!" and started handing out slips of paper.

Kevin took a look at the one in his hand, and saw it was a photocopy of the results from his profile. He recognised River's loopy handwriting at the top in blue ink, '_Healthy Lunatic_'. His temper flared for a moment, and he rounded on her, but it fizzled into nothing at her expression.

"You're arrogant, argumentative, proud, stubborn, intelligent, bright, and _lazy_. And I don't need some stupid tick box grid to tell me that." She said softly so the others couldn't hear.

"Lunatic?" he demanded, unable to work up his anger anymore.

She spread her hands in apology. "What can I say? It's all right to be abnormal. In fact, it's weird to be completely normal. Everyone has their quirks and irrational thoughts. Mine are just fears tacked onto things like spiders and scorpions."

"And toasters?" he jibbed.

River blinked. "Taylor been bitching about me?"

"Hey, Riv!" Lea called. "Stop traumatising the kids and come eat before it's all gone!"

"We can discuss the results later," she assured him, turning back to the coal pit. "The main thing is there's no serious mental illness like schizophrenia to worry about." Then, in a whisper, "You should see what's on Ben's."

They turned back to the group, and Taylor popped up out of nowhere and stuffed a sandwich into her mouth. "Shut the hell up and eat the goddamn food," he said simply before walking away.

River chewed thoughtfully before swallowing and saying, "Problem?" to his back.

Kevin stared at her in disbelief. "That's _my_ line!" he whined. And she bitched about Steph cribbing off of her! The absolute _nerve_ of that woman.

"Oh, I do apologise," her accent slipped into a clipped English one, sounding overly posh compared to her. "I didn't realise how important the word 'problem' was to you."

"Wind up," he accused.

"Guilty as charged!" she threw up her hands. "But be fair, I do it to everyone, so it's not just you."

"Food!" Miley shouted at them.

"I'm coming! Jesus, can I have a moment without being yelled at?"

Before the twins could claim her, River shoved something into his hand. Kevin unfolded it, and saw it was his music, with a few alterations scribbled across it, and a suggested chord pattern on the back. He looked up and saw her wink over her shoulder before Lea claimed her attention.

"Awesome," Kevin said to himself, putting it in his pocket.

"What is?"

He jumped when Gwen appeared at his side.

"Nothing!"

XOXOX

**It all got a bit random at the end, mainly cause we had a charity week last week and my mind was buzzing with the weird conversations we had…mainly cause we were in fancy dress and generally being idiots all day long xD**

**Can I just give a special thanks to **A Spoonful Of Lead** for reviewing on the last few chapters :D I greatly appreciate the feedback and support! Have another virtual cookie and a hug :)**

**Until next time! …whenever that may be….. :S**

**xxx**


	26. Tradeoff

**AN: can I just say OMFG IT'S SO COLD! I mean, England's not THAT bad temperature wise, but it's still November and it's minus degrees in the middle of the day! On the plus side, most of the country's under snow. The down side is, it's not reached us yet :( another snow storm and enforced staying inside and drinking hot chocolate would be lovely right about now xD but anyway, I digress ;)**

**I was hoping to have this up a bit earlier, but I was babysitting and forced to watch **_**The Grinch**_** (yes, I have seen the coca-cola advert WHICH I DO NOT OWN! And yes, it is officially the Christmas season!) and it's hard to think of loving sentiments when Jim Carrey's all like 'MUHAH I stealz xmas now!' it set me back a couple of hours, but I got it finished before the end of the weekend which is the most productive thing I've done all week :D**

**Please read and review!**

_**Trade-off**_

"Anyone seen Kevin?" Gwen asked, putting her bag down by the door and making her way to the sofa.

Mikey was reclining on one of the bean bags, eyes closed and face towards the heavens, with a look of abstract pain on his face. Gwen sat down and nudged him with her foot; he swatted her away and pointed at Steph and Ben, who were huddled over a book and muttering darkly to each other. Mikey gave Gwen a tragic look before going back to his mourning position.

Fed up of getting nowhere, she smacked him round the back of the head and went to the study bunk where River and Mel were seated on the futon and Taylor at the computer.

"So I was thinking," River was saying, oblivious to the boys on the floor. "Pastel yellow? You know, like a soft colour…"

Taylor snorted, thumping the keys with his fingers more forcefully than seemed necessary.

"Or beige," she went on loudly, ignoring him. It seemed as though they were setting out to annoy each other today, and Gwen didn't feel like intruding.

"I would have thought you would go for blue," Mel said mildly, and Gwen sensed something unspoken ripple between them like a visible air current.

"Hey, I'm not forcing anything on this baby. If it's a boy and they like Thomas The Tank Engine, fine! Blue it is. If it's a girl and they like Barbie, it'll be hot pink."

"Hell no not in _my_ house," Taylor snapped.

"We don't even _have _a house yet," River snapped back.

"Guys," Mel said calmly.

"Argh…" River passed her hand over her eyes. "Sorry, just…blah, I'm having a bad day, and – Gwen! Didn't see you there,"

Gwen smiled guiltily, trying to sidle away, but Mel took her hand in a gentle grip, and she sat down beside her.

"Sorry, we're having a bit of a spat at the moment," River looked pointedly at Taylor's messy ponytail before clapping her hands together and saying, "So, how can I help?"

"Have you seen Kevin?" she asked.

"Not since yesterday," River frowned. "You wouldn't happen to know what that boy's up to?"

"I was hoping you could tell me." She said forlornly.

"He seemed preoccupied the other day." Mel murmured.

"He seemed _rude_," Taylor said obstinately.

"He's a guy," River said, searching around her for something. "And a teenager, and generally stubborn. It's not like he meant to call me fat, he just mentioned the fact that I'm starting to show."

Apparently this was an ongoing argument, because Taylor swung round and started having a go about Kevin. River refused to rise to the bait, which seemed for a moment to make matters worse until he deflated and tried to apologise.

"Don't worry," she said soothingly. "But I have to say, Kevin's been acting weird recently."

"Hah," Taylor snorted, still not over his tantrum. "Weird? You serious?"

"Well, you're not exactly that normal yourself." River cut across him.

Taylor decided to go and sulk with Mikey after that, and left the girls to it.

"I'm kinda worried." Gwen admitted, fingering the locket around her neck. "I mean, he has phases, but he's been really secretive lately." That was never a good sign…

"Well…" River looked thoughtful as she continued to search. "A couple of days ago he asked me if I knew anything about a man called Reeth. Apparently he knows this guy who could help him find this person for some…weird reason…I have no idea what he's up to."

Gwen felt her heart sink. "I'm worried."

"Understandable." Mel murmured.

"I'm sure there's a good reason behind it. Or at least some logical explanation…" she patted her jeans down. "Where the bloody hell did I put that…? Ah!" she plucked a packet off the desk. "Want some?"

Gwen accepted the offering of fudge, which did little to cheer her up.

"Look, whatever he's up to," River said, putting an arm around her, "I'm certain he's not doing anything _massively_ stupid. All right, maybe he's being silly," Gwen stifled a laugh. "But I know you guys can handle most anything thrown your way. And…" she pulled a face that drew a laugh from Gwen's lips. "I've yet to see a problem Kevin hasn't managed to smash his way through."

"Smashing isn't always the answer." Mel chastened, though she was smiling too.

"Not according to his version of reality," River pulled that face again, munching on a piece of fudge.

Gwen smiled, despite her anxiety. Whatever Kevin was doing that was making him become secretive and moody all over again, if River thought it would turn out all right, regardless of what happened.

"I know," she said quietly, the locket pressed between her fingers and her thrumming heart. "That's why I love him."

The two women had nothing to say in response, and after a few moments of comfortable silence Gwen decided it was time to leave. Might as well try and get some work down… Mikey caught her at the door to enquire after her, since Ben and Steph were arguing over the best battle plan for a boss on their random RPG game.

"All right?" he asked.

"Yeah, just going home to do some homework."

"Need a lift?" he asked meaningfully.

"No, it's fine. I can walk it." Gwen said mildly, trying to get rid of him.

"Look," Mikey grabbed her wrist before she could disappear down the stairs. "If I'm being irritating, just tell me to piss off, all right?"

Gwen felt for an instant as though she were about to cry, and hugged him. "Can you be my new best friend?"

"Only if you don't tell Steph and Julie. Steph would gut me like the spineless guppy I am, and Julie would probably removed my eyes with her tennis racket. Now, I don't know about you," he held her at arm's length, and she laughed at his cheeky grin. "But I _like_ being able to see. It's my favourite sense after taste."

"You goof ball," she hugged him again. "I'll see you later,"

"See ya!"

XOXOX

Mikey watched Gwen descend the staircase, but got distracted by the commotion happening behind him. River had managed to stand up, pass out and fall over into the rubbish bin. There was a rush to get her up again, and then Steph pushed Ben away so they could plan more tactics and give her breathing space.

Mel set about mixing weird Pagan herbs together for when she came round, and Taylor made sure she didn't swallow her tongue. She'd done that before, and it was scary business.

It was the creepy look in her eyes that kept Mikey hanging over Taylor's shoulder. She was bound to see something worth hearing; Mikey was making the connection between when something was brewing, River seeing something, and then the something happening.

They were both startled when she sat up suddenly, cricking her neck and falling back onto the futon. "Hey," Taylor helped her sit up and stroke her hair out of her face. "What happened back there?"

River looked like a deer caught in the headlights before she shook her head. "There was a mask…" she said. "Like that weird iron one from that episode of Scooby-Doo with the weird…person…" she frowned. "And I saw another one. It looked…like a black and purple butterfly."

"Random much?" Mikey muttered.

Taylor gave him a filthy look before turning his attention solely on River. "You all right?"

"Yeah!" she tried to pass it off. "It was just like Venice at Redentore. Probably just my mind harkening back to the good old days."

"And why would that be?" Mikey asked.

"Cause I can't really go travelling anymore can I?" she pointed out. "I'm going to be a house wife and live in a pretty little lodge with a white picket fence and have chickens and other assorted animals and never see those fireworks again."

Taylor pouted. "You make it sound like a bad thing."

"Oh, I'll give you hell for it later." She said sweetly.

"Eww," Mikey pretended to stagger away and vomit. "Be all cosy and shit somewhere else. My stomach can't take the cute factor."

"Weirdo," Taylor muttered.

"You know, on second thought, forget the picket fence. It won't keep the bears out."

As if on cue, all their badges started screaming at them.

"Yikes!" Mikey jumped several feet into the air.

"Jesus Fecking Christ!" Steph scrambled to grab hers. "Bloody Forever Knights!"

"Duty calls," Ben rolled his eyes, running for the door.

"We'll be back," Steph told the others ominously, pausing briefly at the door.

"Go go go!" Mikey barrelled through, pushing her down the stairs.

"Ow! That was my neck you jackass!"

Once outside the house, they all teetered on the edge of the pavement. "Now what?" Ben exploded. "Kevin's the only one with a car that-!"

"Hey!" Steph whacked him round the head. "I have a jeep you know!"

"It won't get us there fast enough!" Ben yelled back.

"Steph!" Mikey shook her arm, not quite able to reach up and grab her shoulders anymore. "You can just fly there! And Ben, you got that weird red flying thing,"

"Jetray," he snarled.

"And I have my bike! Gwen can just,"

"I am _not_ getting on that thing," she snapped.

"Then fly it is!" Ben said, twirling the dial on the watch and slamming it with his hand.

Mikey ran to get his motorbike on the road, ignoring the sounds of air rushing over feathers and Gwen's protest as someone lifted her off the ground.

"_You there?_" Ben said through the small communicator in his helmet.

"Yup," Mikey didn't bother with the jacket, there wasn't time. He attached his badge to the handlebars and kick started the engine. "I'll follow you on the ground,"

The three little green dots on the map were close together, and headed north; Mikey drove east until he got onto the main road and turned north to join them.

"Where are we headed?"

"_Industrial estate, near the workshop_."

"Got it," Mikey dodged around a few cars, earning several horn blasts, but he managed to slip past the rapidly changing traffic lights and pursue the badge's signals.

XOXOX

After getting themselves hopelessly lost, and Mikey managed to drive straight into wall trying to escape Earth Police forces, he had to give in and stop to repair the damage, leaving the others to find the Forever Knights. It took a while to get the engine operational again, but once it was Mikey got on and drove back to Ben's house where they other's were convening.

Night had already fallen by this point, but it came as a surprise when no one was home. Mikey grabbed his mobile and dialled Gwen's number; as ever, it took five seconds for her to pick up.

"_Hello?_"

"Yo! Say Gwen, where the hell is everyone?"

"_We found Kevin_," she sounded annoyed about something, but her tone forbad any questioning. "_And we got the Forever Knights. We're on our way to Steph's house,_"

"'Kay, I'll see you guys there,"

"_Bye_,"

He arrived just before the others did, and as they got out of the car he ambled over he saw the look on Gwen's face.

"Is something-?" Mikey stopped when he saw Kevin in the driver's seat. "Um…Kevin? What's with the black eye?" Although he had to admit it was a most glorious black eye, the like of which Mikey didn't see very often.

Kevin grinned, gestured with his hand while looking at the steering wheel. "Like I told the others before, I just wished upon a star and viola!"

Mikey glanced at Gwen's expression before looking back at Kevin. "I didn't know you could speak French." Ben sniggered. "Seriously though, what happened?"

"I'm one hundred per cent normal,"

"Eww, normality…" Mikey pretended to shudder. "So I guess this means the emergency has been dealt with,"

Ben grabbed him by the collar and got right in his face. "Where the hell did you end up? We could have used you when it was just us three _four hours ago_!"

"I drove into a wall, Ben! What do you want from me?"

"Commitment!"

"I commit!" Mikey yelled back. "I had to commit to hiding so I didn't get arrested for trying to take down some jumped up Ye Olde English Men, or break my neck so I had to stop and fix my engine!"

Just before it got to the punching stage, Gwen stepped away from the car, catching Mikey's attention.

"Maybe later," she was saying, obviously making up an excuse.

Kevin said something in response, but Mikey was busy contemplating Gwen's expression. It was somewhere between recognition, shock, and determination; she was up to something.

Kevin drove away, and Ben and Steph stalked off in opposite directions. Mikey sidled over to Gwen and gave her a meaningful look.

"Something's up with Kevin." He stated.

"Yes."

"He somehow managed to reverse the pulse feedback from the omnitrix."

"Yeah."

"Can he absorb stuff again?"

"No."

"So everything that made him unique and Kevinish is gone."

"Yup."

"And you think you know why?"

"No." Gwen marched over to Mikey's bike. "I don't think, I _know_. Get on, I'll tell you on the way."

Mikey handed her the spare jacket and Goofy helmet, pausing to switch the communicator on. He put on his own helmet and settled before the handlebars; Gwen held onto his shoulders.

"Okay, where to?"

"Follow this road to Main Street. I'll direct you from there."

Once they were out on the main road, Mikey said, "Okay, you dragged me along on this wild goose chase, so spill it."

"There was this guy," Gwen paused.

"Great, we see many guys in this profession…"

"This was before you arrived in America. And before Kevin and I were dating."

"Fair enough. I guess he tried to woo you or Kevin tried to eat his soul or something."

"It's mostly my fault…I was trying to get him to admit he liked me,"

"Who, Kevin or this guy?"

"Kevin, and shut up I'm not finished yet."

"Shutting."

"Anyway, we had reports of zombies cropping up all over the place,"

"Eww! My brain's safe though, right?"

"Mikey!"

"Sorry…" he winced as she gave him a dig in the ribs.

"This guy called Michael Morningstar-" she chuckled as Mikey howled with laughter, "-who we all thought was amazing,"

"Let me guess, he turned out to be a real werewolf or a vampire or something?"

"Actually…" it took a moment for Gwen to continue. "He's like an energy vampire."

Mikey considered this for a moment. "So…what, he's like an evil Edward Cullen on steroids or a slightly more sophisticated James?"

"Blond."

"Ha!"

"Blue eyed."

"This is too much…"

"Left a sparkly trail when he flew,"

"All right Gwendolyn, I'm drawing the line here."

"Basically, I ignored Kevin's warnings about him, and I nearly died because of it. He and Ben tried to save me, but I ended up saving them. After that, he showed up a couple of times, but we've been able to handle him."

"So he's a pretty boy man slut with issues who sparkles like a goddamn Christmas bubal and sucks life out of people?" Wow. Now was this a coincidence, or was this the reason why most American's see therapists, to stop this shit from happening? Then again, that Mature Rated TV series _being human_ by the BBC proved that Brits were just as mentally gaga as well.

"Yes." Gwen said shortly.

"So…what does this have to do with Kevin suddenly being squishy and human again?" That, ladies and gentlemen, is the million-dollar question. No wait, _pound sterling_…he needed to contact his old Havant buddies, he was going the same way as Steph.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

"And by 'I' I suppose you mean 'we' as in _us_."

"Glad you worked that one out, Mikey."

"Okay, shut up and tell me left or right,"

"Take a left here and go on for fifty yards. There should be a turnoff to the right…"

"I see it,"

XOXOX

Much as his tennis mode questions annoyed her, throwing every comment back at her in a constant rally, Gwen was glad Mikey had agreed to come with her. It felt nice knowing she had someone to watch her back, and someone to confide in.

When Kevin had asked her to go to the movies with him, in the moment when she had touched his hand, she had felt the smooth, warm, supple texture of his skin, along with his aura, his unique manna that set him aside from everyone else.

And she had also felt a strong residue from someone else, someone who made her stomach twist painfully.

Mike Morningstar.

Gwen didn't know how or what Kevin had done, but he'd done it with Darkstar's help, and she was going to get to the bottom of this. No good could come of anything he was involved with unless it was under careful and armed supervision.

Directing Mikey by the manna signature, Gwen followed the trail to an old abandoned museum outside the outskirts of town. Mikey pulled to a halt and hid the bike in some bushes, taking their helmets and jackets to stow in the saddlebags.

"Okay," he whispered, ruffling up his hair into an even bigger mess. "Now what?"

"Follow me, and stay close." She edged toward the building.

Something cold and wet snuffled at her hand. Looking down, she saw a wolf head licking her sleeve. He looked up and whined at the back of his throat, tail swishing back and forth in compliance. "Got your back," he whispered, padding forth on silent paws.

They circled the building until Gwen was satisfied she knew where Darkstar was, and signalled to Mikey to enter through one of the unopened doors. She kicked it in and stormed inside, hands ablaze with manna, Mikey at her elbow, spoiling for a fight.

"Darkstar!" she called into the gloom, knowing exactly where he was.

"Ah, lovely Gwen."

That voice still made her skin crawl. She demanded to know what he'd done to Kevin, but he nonchalantly brushed it away, and walked towards them into the faint light.

As handsome and blond as the day she had first laid eyes on him; it made Gwen sick to her stomach. He'd somehow taken Kevin's powers and used them to restore himself to his 'former' glory.

It was a brief exchange, and suddenly in the infinitesimal moment before he raised his hands and the dark beam of energy reached out for her like a poisonous snake, she realised she'd made a terrible mistake.

Again.

Only this time no one knew where she and Mikey were, and Kevin would most likely get killed if he even tried to help her.

Why, _why_ did she always get herself into these messes?

The black bolt hit Gwen squarely in the chest, and she felt as though her soul were slowly being ripped from her via a very tiny tube. She was only vaguely aware of the ireful snarl by her side before she fell to the floor, unable to move and too weak to defend herself. From where she lay, Gwen could see Mikey get flung into a glass case that shattered into millions of tiny, lethal shards.

"Let's not play games," Darkstar purred, kneeling down and taking her hand.

It was ripped away from her as Mikey pounced, teeth locking around the older boy's throat and a feral snarl rippling from deep within his chest. He swore, twisting his jaws and forcing Darkstar to twist with him or have his throat torn right out from his neck.

Gwen struggled to keep her eyes open, but she succumbed to the little voice in the back of her head telling her to go to sleep.

It would all be all right, just as soon as Mikey stopped being such a nuisance. All Mike had to do was…

_No!_

Something in her rebelled, pushing the noxious little thought out of her head and gathering as much strength from her surroundings as she could. Gwen staggered to her feet, and threw as strong a blast as she could at Darkstar's back, forcing him away from her friend and out of her head where he was trying to weave his cunning little charm. It wasn't going to work this time; she was settling this right here, right now, once and for all.

But Mikey collapsed in a heap upon the broken glass, yelping in pain and thrashing against the hand on his throat.

"Leave him alone!" Gwen screamed, throwing everything she had at him in order to save Mikey's life.

"Well, well," Darkstar stood up and paced over to her.

Gwen swayed as vertigo and nausea hit her, making it impossible to stand upright or see straight.

"What happened to you and Kevin? I'd heard you two were quite the item. Or does this pathetic insectile mammal appeal to you more?"

"You touch my friend," she said, staggering to one side and gripping the table that bumped into her leg for solidarity. "And I swear-"

He laughed at her, grabbing her wrists and pulling upwards painfully so she had to stand on the tips of her toes to alleviate the throbbing sensation in her arms. "Always so feisty. A typical redhead. And such a typically stubborn Aries, too. No wonder everyone thinks you and Levin make such a good match." He wrenched his hand to one side and Gwen tried to hold back a scream.

Something scraped across the floor, and they both lurched to one side as Mikey dragged himself towards them, limping badly but with fire dancing in his eyes. "One more move," he used to foulest curse word Gwen had yet heard from him, "and I swear on my grandfather's grave, I'll-!"

Darkstar carelessly hurled a bolt at him, and Mikey collapsed under the strain, trembling as his life force was drained.

Gwen tried to reach for him, calling his name, on the verge of hysteria, but the sensation of having her soul sucked out through a straw came back and she felt herself go limp again. She'd really done it this time, and Mikey would pay for it – she was such an idiot! She should have just accepted Kevin's choice and not stuck her nose in it; now they could both easily die, and no one would ever know what had happened.

It would kill her parents, Ben, her aunt and uncle, Kevin…

"Your energy," the voice slithered into her mind, coiling itself around the image of Kevin's face, suffocating it. "It's delicious."

Mikey somehow mustered the energy to throw back his head and howl, long and loud, right from the diaphragm; it was the sort of noise that would carry for quite a distance. And then suddenly Ben was there; Gwen could faintly feel his presence, followed quickly by Steph, and then her heart leapt despite itself when she heard Kevin's voice yelling into the chaos, clear and crisp as a bell.

But it was already too late; she couldn't muster the energy to do anything anymore. Darkstar's insidious thoughts were curling themselves around hers and smothering them, willing her to surrender and give him what he wanted: her soul.

Just when it felt like there was nothing left of her, something blocked him. She registered dimly his own surprise, and he redoubled his efforts, still siphoning off Mikey, and by now the others. But something was stopping him; the last of her manna, her energy – her whole _being_ – was wrapped around her still beating heart, stubbornly refusing to go anywhere.

And then came the screaming, but it wasn't from her. Someone was in pain, two people were screaming in agony.

The floor smacked Gwen in the face when she landed, and an avalanche of boxes fell on top of her. She could feel! She could move. She could think straight…

Her heart beat frantically, her blood pulsing like a flood through her body, and her manna was restored to its entirety. And then it struck her.

Kevin!

Where was he? He'd been here a moment ago, just before she'd been crushed into oblivion…

Gwen scrambled to her feet, shedding debris left and right. She called his name, on the verge of a panic attack, when she heard a familiar groan. Her ears led her to him, catapulted into a heap of old junk.

"Kevin!" she called again, on the brink of tears.

What she saw made her stop in her tracks, unable to hold in the gasp that escaped her lips. He looked up at her, blinking in a dazed sort of way, unable to focus on her for a moment, his face composed of minerals and not flesh.

"What is it?" Kevin raised a hand to touch his cheek, and the chink of metal on rock echoed loudly in the dusty silence. "Oh. Figured something like that would happen."

Gwen almost wished he would punch her in the gut, it felt like someone already had, and she deserved it.

Kevin had wanted to be normal, to not have all these freakishly powerful abilities, just be a regular human being. And she'd been selfish enough to tear that from him by running off after Darkstar like this…

"I'm so sorry," she stammered, putting a hand on his shoulder, struggling to convey her torrent of emotions. "If I hadn't-!"

"No!" his hand found hers, warm, hard and smooth; she though he was going to flick her away, but his fingers curled around hers, holding her in place. "I did what I had to do." His lips curled upwards into a smile. "And I'd do it again in a second."

Gwen's heart constricted for a moment in a most unusual and pleasant way.

He'd give it all up, being normal and un-alienish and not weird, just for her?

Her lips parted not sure whether to laugh, cry, or kiss him, but someone from behind them yelled.

"No!"

Kevin lurched to his feet, and she felt him draw her behind his body.

Darkstar stood before a mirror, howling at his reflection; a mummified corpse with dull, flat eyes gazing balefully back. "Look! Look what you've done to me!" for a moment it looked as though he was about to charge at them, but instead he turned his back, cursing them and promising they would see him again, like every melodramatic villain they had ever faced. And then he was gone through the hole they had blasted in the wall.

In the silence he left behind, Gwen flung her arms around Kevin's neck, now knowing that she _did_ want to laugh, cry and kiss him, just all at the same time. But instead she settled for listening to his steady heartbeat that reverberated through his collarbone.

"Kevin!"

Gwen stepped to one side, and Steph wiped her beak in his hair, cooing loudly.

"What the hell happened? I thought we were goners for sure this time!"

"Gwen…"

She turned her attention to Mikey, who was dragging himself over to them, leg trailing behind him and leaving a line of blood on the filthy floor. Her heart twisted again, knowing this was all her fault; she knelt down beside him, running a hand over his maimed leg and whispering a few choice words over the wound. The glass unstuck itself, and she encouraged the muscle and bone to mend itself, knitting together over the raw flesh.

"That _itches_…" he whined, thrashing his head back and forth.

"Better than having a doctor shove a massive needle in you," she retorted, scratching his ears as she finished.

"I guess…" he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Jesus Christ, for a pretty boy he sure does a lot of working out…"

"Anyone seen Ben?" Kevin asked them, breaking the medical bubble.

"Over here," Steph stumbled across the fight zone to a pile of boxes and nosed them out of the way.

They stood around the box Ben was stuck in, observing his spaced out expression for a moment until Mikey said, "S'pose we should haul him out."

Gwen took one arm, and Kevin took the other; Steph took the collar of his jacket in her beak and Mikey took a mouthful of denim at his knees. Together they lifted Ben out of the box and onto his feet. Gwen's heart, after so many ups and downs in the last three minutes, soared once more. Steph hopped onto the edge of the box and nipped his ear. "Ben! You're alive! Yippee! I don't have to fill in any paperwork on this!"

After a moment of instability, Ben shook his head, murmured "Thanks," to them, and blinked as he looked up at Kevin. "What happened-!"

"Call it Karma kid, and leave it at that." He turned on his heel and made his way to the door.

Gwen hesitated, not sure if she should run after him or not. Ben looked to her, as looking as lost as she felt.

"C'mon!" Kevin called from the hole in the wall. "First round of smoothies is on me!"

"Well," Steph drawled, preparing for take off. "If you insist!" she swooped in low, phasing just before she hit the ground – literally running – and bounced off outside. "I like mine hot and spicy!" she called.

Mikey padded forth, no longer limping so badly, stopping briefly to lick Kevin's face. "You awesome-alien-golem-thing you!" and chased off after Steph.

Gwen followed Ben at a more sedate pace; he paused to give Kevin a friendly punch on the arm before going to the car outside and waiting for them. Gwen hesitated, unsure what to do, but Kevin gathered her up in his arms and kissed the crown of her head, before taking her hand and leading her to the others.

"You know, I think I'll fly. It's more energy efficient and eco-friendly." Steph said snidely as Kevin unlocked the car.

"I'll come back for the bike. Not like anyone would raid _this_ dump…"

"What if Darkstar comes back and takes it?" Ben demanded, climbing into the backseat.

"The way I see it," Mikey said, following him. "Is that no one in their right mind would ride that thing unless they were mad like me. There's a reason I chose bright orange instead of _demure_ black or silver or midnight blue."

Steph spread her wings and took off, leaving them to catch up on land. Kevin started the engine and Gwen tuned out the conversation on vehicles and colours behind them, focusing her sole attention on Kevin.

Cheesy as it may sound, but he _always_ was her perpetual saviour. And, as he moved his hand to hold hers over the console, he always would be. He squeezed her hand in a loving motion, and she knew she wouldn't have it any other way.

XOXOX

The whole little episode with Darkstar took them all up to nine o'clock, and they just managed to reach Mr Smoothies before it shut. Steph claimed that oh what a shame they couldn't go home at this hour and the only logical step was for everyone to sleep at her house.

Kevin suspected it had more to do with Tom being out, Mel and the twins being down at the farm with River, and Dylan just not being there, but he was grateful. He didn't want to have to turn up at home in this state, not just yet anyway.

Gwen was quiet throughout the evening, not saying much as they drank their smoothies, nor when Mikey tried to get her to come downstairs and jam on the piano when Steph and Ben put their battle plan for the evil boss on their borrowed RPG on the xBox.

Kevin wanted to talk to her, but there was something remote and distant in her eyes, and he didn't feel able to broach the subject.

Michelle fussed over them all, force fed them soup and sent them to bed early, for which Kevin wasn't complaining (for once). Enforced rest was definitely something he needed right now.

When he was through brushing his teeth, Gwen was already curled up on the couch, fast asleep, and he didn't want to disturb her. Instead, he lined up some cushions adjacent to her, and let himself fall into them. Steph and Ben collapsed where they were, not bothering to change or brush their teeth after they failed to beat the boss five times in a row since they had finished eating. Mikey, for once sleeping in his human form, lay face down on an air bed, snoring loudly and twitching at regular intervals.

Sleep came easily, but it was also easily broken; something above him groaned, like the springs in his mattress at home, and padded softly away from them. By the time Kevin mustered himself up, Gwen was gone, but the skylight was open.

Carefully so he wouldn't wake anyone else, although they were all so fast asleep he could probably dance on their pillows and they'd still be snoring, he got up and followed Gwen onto the roof.

She sat on the flat platform to the right of the skylight, knees to chest and tracing patterns on the plywood with her right hand. He said her name, and she looked up before returning her gaze to her bare feet.

Kevin squeezed in beside her, and waited for her to say something, but she didn't.

He cleared his throat, but he still got no reply.

"Gwen,"

She looked up at him, eyes opaque and unrevealing. "Yes?"

"Talk to me," he begged. "You've barely said a word since we got back from that museum."

She bit her lip and looked away, avoiding his gaze.

"It's about Darkstar isn't it?"

Gwen stubbornly refused answer.

"About the mutation thing?"

Still no response.

"The fact I bought you a blueberry instead of an orange and passion fruit?"

Nothing.

"Gwendolyn,"

_That_ caught her attention. She looked up automatically, and got caught in his gaze.

"Talk to me," he said again, more softly.

"I-" she swallowed. "I'm sorry. I've been a complete idiot. I shouldn't have run off like that, I thought I was doing the right thing, but I screwed up, and now-!"

Kevin placed a finger on her lips to stem to flood of hysterics. "Listen." She waited patiently for him to talk, looking him directly in the eye, though something inside her flinched. Since she gave him this curtsey, he also looked her in the eye, despite his instinct to say this to his feet.

"He set a trail he knew I would follow. He made me an offer I thought I couldn't refuse. Obviously it was a trap to get back at all of us for what happened before, and we were all stupid enough to take the bait." His hand rose of its own accord and traced the planes of her cheekbones. "I'm just glad nothing happened to you."

"But you gave it up!" she insisted, the barrier dropping from her eyes just before the first tear fell. "Being normal, the one thing you wanted more than anything else, and I made you give it up!"

"Gwen," he began, but she broke down in tears – something he'd only ever seen her do once, and only because of his own stupidity.

Kevin held out his arms, and she went to him instinctively, stifling her sobs. He just held her until the sobs died down and she pushed him away, drying her eyes on her sleeves.

"And it's bad enough that I do all this to you," she sniffed, avoiding his gaze again.

"What do you mean?" where the hell did she get _that_ conclusion from?

"All I ever seem to do is cause you problems or grief. It just seems like my presence in your life over complicates everything. If it weren't for me, you'd still be human…!"

As much as he loved listening to the sound of her voice, Kevin put a hand over her mouth to stop her from going any further.

"Okay, Gwen? Just be quiet and listen to me for a moment."

She looked up at him, eyes brighter than he'd ever seen them in the starlight.

"If it weren't for you guys, I'd probably be in jail or lying in a ditch somewhere with a knife in my ribs. And without _you_…" words failed him. How could words convey the raw emotion that came straight from the heart anyway? "God, I don't know _where_ I'd be. I wouldn't have stuck around this long if you hadn't been here. I would have walked out long ago, ended up…I dunno, probably back in the Null Void. I've never been able to commit to anything my whole life, cause nothing's ever been constant: it was always changing, so I never knew where I stood with anyone. It's like…like you're this rock I can hang on to, something that doesn't change, that's always there, always stable…" _again_ with the poetics…God, it was so pathetic – and there goes his man card… "The one thing in my life that's consistent, that I know will always be there. And I've screwed up too many times to count, but you always let me back into your life. You mean way more to me than anything else. Heck, I'd trade in my car to keep you safe! Sure, I'd moan and bitch about it afterwards, but if it means you don't get hurt, it's worth it."

Gwen didn't say anything, just watched him as he spilled his soul to her.

"When we guessed where you had gone…I realised Darkstar had played me for an idiot, and that you were in danger. The only thing I could think of was to break the Librium. And it worked. Sure, so I'm all hard and shiny again, but we foiled his plans and you're safe. Don't you see? I couldn't really care less what happens to me: you've shown me time and again you love me, and you accept me as I am. No one else would put up with this…" Kevin was running out of words. How could he ever put his thoughts and feelings into words anyway? There was no word that embodied everything he felt for her in so many syllables.

Gwen didn't say anything for a moment. Slowly she wormed her way into his arms, closing her eyes; he held her, feeling the soft skin of her arms and cheek against him. She smelled as flora and fruity as ever, and Kevin buried his nose in her hair.

"I know that I put up with a lot from you…" she said slowly, and Kevin laughed. "But you put up with a lot from me too…"

"Nah," he cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "I can replace a car, or a ship or whatever. I could never replace you."

Gwen raised her own hand and placed it over his, eyes closed and leaning against him. "You're always there. Whenever I'm in trouble, even when it's my fault, you end up saving me."

"I wouldn't do it for just anyone."

"Seriously, you're like my perpetual saviour,"

"I don't know whether being a likened to Jesus is a good thing or a bad thing." He teased.

Instead of getting slapped like he was expecting, Gwen sat up straighter, looking him in the eye with a soft intensity.

"You know," she said quietly. "I haven't kissed you today."

"Is that a fact?" he smirked.

"It's an invitation." She hinted heavily.

Now that they'd had a little heart to heart chat and were not in any way shape or form angry with each other over this little incident, it seemed the perfect time to oblige.

No one else was there, it was just them, and Kevin preferred it that way. He didn't like sharing attention, he was quite immature in that sense; but he'd never been shown any interest when he was younger. She made him act this way, an impulsive and childish desire for attention.

And Gwen was willing to give it to him.

Kevin had never been one to chase after girls, or ogle them from afar. He'd never felt the need to have a girlfriend until he met her again after so many years, so he hadn't kissed many people as a result. But with Gwen…

Gwen pulled away slightly, her breathing uneven, looking at a point somewhere over his shoulder. She refused to look at him, and tried to twist out of his grasp when he leant forward to kiss her again.

"You," she said breathlessly. "When you do that…it makes me forget…"

"What?" he teased her by running his lips along her neck, thrilled by the soft whimper that managed to escape her lips.

"Everything," she gasped, trying and failing to push him away. "Like nothing else in the world matters…"

Kevin trailed a hand down her side, before wrapping it around her waist. His lips travelled from her throat to her lips, where she responded to his probing tongue. It was his turn to verbalise his sentiments when she took his bottom lip between her teeth, her fingers pulling insistently at his hair. She pulled away again, bringing her hands away from his hair, and visibly tried to gather her thoughts before Kevin started torturing her throat again.

"It's like…I look at reality, and I can see everything, and then…you're there, and you're all I can see. Like…like being with you…nothing else matters anymore…"

Kevin grinned against her skin. She had basically said aloud how he felt in moments like these. It was that, and several other factors that compelled him to follow her and seek her affections. He nipped her earlobe, earning a squeak of surprise, and he couldn't help the chuckle that rose from his chest.

"Welcome to my world." He breathed, swooping down to catch her lips again.

XOXOX

**Tah-dah! I may have lost it a bit at the end, I'm not sure if it tied in with the rest of it…let me know what you think! (virtual cookies and hot chocolate to all reviewers! ;) )**

**xxx**


	27. Trauma

**AN: …..long time in the making xD I was meaning to update ages ago, but I got writers block and Christmas sort of took my full attention… and I caught the stomach flu and died for a week back there :S and I didn't feel like sitting up and typing for a while.**

**I'm not entirely happy about this chapter, but I need it to lead into something else which would have made it way too long, so bear with me for the moment.**

**Also, title equals FAIL but I couldn't think of anything else xD**

_**Trauma**_

Gwen wasn't entirely sure how Mikey had talked her into this, but nonetheless he had persuaded her to accompany him to the mall. Mercifully, he had charmed Mel into handing over her car keys so she didn't have to sit on the motorbike.

Mikey gave her grief over hating his poor defenceless chosen mode of transport, but sat there in the drivers seat giggling like a little girl when she hit him with the children's soccer boots that were lurking under her seat. It was that goofy grin and the playful apology in his eyes that saved his face from needing major renovations. Gwen told him this as he pulled into the parking lot, and he shrugged it off in good humour; she wouldn't dare threaten anyone else like this.

Ben would smile condescendingly, pat her on the head and tell her she was a dweeb; Steph would most likely rise to the challenge and slap her; and Kevin would take it personally and curl up in a corner and sulk.

Mikey couldn't be deflated from his hyper state even if you stabbed him with a thousand needles.

Although that was looking like an attractive punishment as Mikey dragged her to the shopping outlet.

Then it occurred to her as they sifted through racks of t-shirts that she didn't know if he had a licence.

"I'm shocked you have such a low opinion of me!" he grinned, not even trying to look horrified. "Nah, I have a driving licence. Here," he dug deeply into his back pocket and pulled out a very battered looking black leather wallet.

Gwen snickered, and said in response to his raised eyebrow, "I was expecting something bright and cheerful, like yellow or orange."

"Nope. Never found the right wallet," he sighed dramatically.

Inside were several compartments, and Gwen found – among other things – three separate driving licenses. One was clearly for the UK, because it was like Steph's only the photo showed a very sleepy and bored looking Mikey; one was for the Republic of Ireland, and the other was an Intergalactic Learner's card that allowed him to fly a small spacecraft under supervision.

"Not that I trust myself to fly one," he snorted, brushing shirts aside in his quest to supplement his wardrobe.

Gwen was about to hand it back over when a slip of paper fell out and fluttered to the floor like a lopsided snowflake. Mikey made no move to show he'd noticed, so she bent down to pick it up.

It was a photo, with Mikey and the twins sitting on the grass with a large dog between them. A man and a woman were kneeling behind them; the woman was looking down on Mikey's head with a warm smile, her soft curly hair the exact same shade as the twins, and her eyes strangely coloured – distorted by the faded paper and the quality of the camera. The man was dark haired, with a thin face and stubble blurring the outline of his jaw; his eyes were dark, and Gwen couldn't discern the colour of his irises.

They all looked so happy; the children and the man grinning up at the camera, and the dog with its tongue lolling from the side of its mouth in a familiar gesture. Mikey did that when he was in his Lupus form, prancing around like a cat that had the cream before licking or biting the closest person and turning to run for his dear life, cackling as he went.

"Is this your family?" she asked, holding it out to Mikey.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! We went to visit my grandparents in Dublin when I was seven." He said, taking the photo from her and grinning like his younger self. "Those were the days! I tell ya," he babbled on about how awesome Ireland was, and how he sometimes regretted moving to Portsmouth for his father's work. "But, you know," he shrugged, unaware of Gwen's pleading look for him to shut up. "I wouldn't have met Steph, and ultimately I wouldn't have swanned over here to bug everyone. And I guess that Miley and Lea would never have met River, and he'd be even more of a-"

He stopped in his tracks, staring at something over by the changing rooms.

Gwen wanted to slap him, but she settled for poking him in the stomach.

"Oh, what now?" she hissed. She loved him like a brother, but that came with the hatred one has for older siblings. It was easy to see what had rubbed Kevin up the wrong way; she remembered feeling that little flare of jealousy when he and Steph had started getting on like a house on fire; this was the way their relationship worked, pissing each other off and the next moment they grudgingly need each other for some new project, and then the whole thing was forgotten.

Why, why did she have to be friends with the weirdest people? Ben was family, so she couldn't be rid of him, and Steph had just always sort of been there anyway. Gwen had half a mind to kick Mikey in the shins, but she saw the look of wonder on his face, and gave in to her curiosity.

"It's her," he breathed, his head slowly revolving as a certain figure walked over to the counter with a dress in her hands. A certain someone with tiger-like hair.

"Just go over and say hi to her," Gwen said impatiently. She wasn't sure why, but she'd been feeling grumpy all day, and it had steadily increased since Mikey went on one of his sprees.

"She keeps brushing me off," he said thoughtfully, regarding her the way a critic regards a painting. "But I can see her smirking at me when I'm about to give up. And it just eggs me on."

"Seriously," Gwen huffed, stomping down the aisle. "The way you gone on, its almost sickening…"

"Hah!" Mikey rounded on her. "Hark who's talking! You and Kevin: up and down and all over the bloody show. And then when you're talking to each other you get all lovey-dovey and just _eww_!" he recoiled from the thought, shuddering and cringing to one side.

Gwen stared at him, stunned. But then he grinned, and she felt herself relax.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to come across like a bitch," he said, his gaze heavy and sincere.

"S'okay," she said, fiddling with a loose thread on a pair of jeans. "You _are_ part dog, anyway."

Mikey laughed, and grabbed her wrists. "So! Will you help me corner Sally?"

"What? No!" Gwen didn't want to get mixed up in his schemes, not after the story River had told them the other day of how he and a bunch of other people from one of the local colleges had managed to set fire to what remained of her old car whilst under the influence, and without anything remotely flammable on them. Hell no, she wasn't going to let him drag her any further down the path of insanity!

"You said so yourself, I need to grow a pair," he grinned, hauling her towards the exit. "Besides!" he turned to look back at her, ignoring her fierce scowl. "I need a woman's touch. You're the only one who can help me find happiness!"

Gwen would have given anything to be hanging out with Ben right now.

It was with great reluctance and an almighty shove that Mikey got Gwen to follow Sally. She went into a music shop, and they snuck in after her, stealing away to one side and hiding behind a stack of keyboards. Gwen was sorely tempted to just mutter a travel spell and ditch him, but when he gave her that pleading look – the same one Kevin gave her when he wasn't getting his way – made her go along with this madness.

And then the perfect plan hit her as she turned to regard the wall beside them to the right. A large hand written sign read: 'PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TRY INSTRUMENTS OUT – ASK FOR ASSISTANCE' and there just so happened to be a Yamaha piano on display beside it.

"Hey, Mikey!" Oh, this was perfect! She could help Mikey catch Sally's eye and go do her own thing unhindered.

"Uh?" Mikey was staring after Sally with a dreamy look on his face.

"Here," she grabbed his considerably higher shoulders and steered him to the stool, and seated him before the pristine keys.

"What, you want me to beat her with a key board and take her to a secluded place and blackmail her into being my girlfriend? Isn't that basically what they did in Twilight?" he narrowed his eyes at the piano.

"No! That's _not_ how Edward courted Bella! It's how he dumped her in New Moon. My point is," she stroked one of the keys lovingly, looking up at the walls and trying to find a violin for him. "I hear you're an _excellent_ grade eight music student,"

Mikey folded his arms and stroked an imaginary beard. "I love the way your fiendish mind works." He grinned at her, and started playing a merry and cheerful little piece.

Gwen took the opportunity to leg it once he was absorbed in his music. It was a great plan, but she hadn't counted on running into Taylor at the end of a row of cellos.

"Hey!" he grinned, wrapping a massive arm around her shoulders in a friendly gesture. "Running for dear life?"

"Mikey," she said, pointing behind her as an explanation. Looking over Taylor's shoulder, she saw a distinctive sweep of golden blonde and flame red hair shaking beside blue-hued black.

"Hi Gwen!" Steph enthused, waving at her from five feet away. "Look at this!" she brandished an electric guitar in her face. "How cool is that? Gerald said that I can have a new guitar for my birthday in August, so we're shopping around. But this is just awesome!"

It was red, like the last two or so inches of her hair; gold inlay in soft flame like curves trailed down the neck to the body, which was shaped like a pair of wings and a wide spread tail. The top of the neck where the strings were pegged had a distinct bird-like shape to it.

_Typical…_Gwen thought to herself, smiling. It was just so like her to find something like this and fuss over it. The same way Gwen herself fussed over nail polish and lip-gloss.

"That's quite cool," she said, pushing it back to Steph. She turned her attention to Kevin, who had a drawn and pleading look on his face.

The moment Steph turned her back on him to collar Taylor, he mouthed, "Help!"

"What do _you_ think?" Steph demanded of Taylor, who was gazing absently at a guitar with thick, semi-transparent strings and a beautiful mother of pearl inlay around the sound hole.

"Yeah, awesome," he said vaguely, tracing the circle with a finger and admiring the craftsmanship. "Totally you. Hey Kevin, what do you think of the design on this one?"

Kevin leapt at the chance to flee Steph's clutches and practically ran Taylor over in his haste to escape. "It's amazing!" he said in a forced and cheerful voice.

Gwen squeezed her way into his side as the two guys appraised the guitar. He wasn't going to fool her with that act.

"So what's so amazing about this one?" she asked coyly, enjoying his half formed scowl.

"Mother of pearl," Taylor said with deliberate slowness. "Is an _excellent_ decorative devise."

"Please don't use big words," Kevin groaned, palming his forehead with the heel of his hand. "I have English Lit first thing tomorrow at school…"

"I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request." He said, apparently proud that he had remembered the phrase.

Kevin stared at him in abject horror.

Gwen giggled and told him, "It means no. Didn't you ever watch Pirates of The Caribbean?"

"No," he looked at her with a rather prim expression. "I got better things to waste my time on than watching Disney movies."

"Oh my God!"

Gwen jumped when River came out of nowhere, brandishing a CD case and grinning as manically as Steph. She grabbed Kevin's wrist and shoved the case into his face.

"They stock Water Potential!"

His reaction was completely unexpected; Kevin took one look at the cover art, then turned to her with a grin of his own, and demanded, "Where?"

And then they were running to the other end of the shop, leaving Gwen staring blankly after them, Taylor still admiring the inlayed guitar, and Steph drooling over her find.

"Um…" What just happened?

Taylor laughed and slowly made his way after them. "And they say _I'm_ the immature one. You set River on a course and there's nothing you can do to stop her."

"What was she on about?" Gwen asked, hurrying to follow. She had to take three quick strides to keep up with his considerably longer legs.

"Some Osmosian Band." Taylor shrugged. "She went to sixth form with one who hung round to get a few Earth degrees before he went home. Introduced them all to the finer rock music of his race." There was a superior sort of look in his eye as he spoke, a sort of resigned acceptance of her weird and wonderful ways.

Tucked into the back corner of the shop was one of those units that played certain tracks from various CDs, and River was dancing around in front of it to a song Gwen had never heard while Kevin was perusing the shelves.

"Oh God, please don't tell me she found that single she's been on about for the last six months…" Taylor made a show of leaning against the wall in a tragic stance that had Kevin laughing.

River was playing wind up merchant; she took a few steps towards them and started playing air guitar, singing to the track that blared through the speakers behind her.

"So maybe second guessin' my next motivation wasn't really all that clever now, don't you think so?" she strummed wildly at the air, blonde hair flying as she threw her head back and forth like a heavy rock fan. She was about to start the next line, but the music suddenly changed and she glowered at Kevin.

"What?" he snapped, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I was _listening_ to that!" she whined.

"Boo-hoo," he said, punching one of the buttons. "Listen to this one!"

"But I was _listening_ to _that_ one!"

Gwen tried to stifle her giggles, but she didn't quite mange. Taylor rolled his eyes and humoured them both by checking the CDs himself.

"_Oh_," River started bouncing on the balls of her feet, fluttering her hands the same way Steph's younger brother did when he was excited. "I love this one!" And then they were both singing along with the artists on the disc.

"Oh great," Taylor said listlessly, flipping cases over with a bored look. "She's found a new music buddy."

"Baby I don't need to know," Gwen started laughing when _Kevin_ of all people started dancing in public, next to the one person she had thought had an ounce of sanity to their name. "If the sky's falling down, on me. There's nothing quite like, seeing your eyes close and cutting me off, from that deep shade, that God cut from the sky and placed in your eyes,"

"How does rock get away with such soppy lyrics?" Taylor complained.

River wasn't paying much attention until he hit the stop button. "Spoil sport," she muttered, moving off to look at an array of music books.

"It's like babysitting a little kid," he laughed at her.

River stormed up to him and poked him between the eyes. "Listen here, _mister_,"

Taylor grabbed her wrist and pulled.

"Hey!"

"_Whoa_, grump alert on aisle six!" he grinned, tugging her away from the music unit to a selection of acoustic guitars at the other end, trying to twist her around his arm, laughing as he went.

"Hey! Stop-! Let go, seriously- _stop it_!" River shrieked, trying not to giggle. "Taylor, quit – _it_! Ahh, my lungs – _hurt_!"

They looked utterly ridiculous, and Kevin stalked back to Steph when River didn't come back after being pushed up against the wall, laughing weakly and managing to let her tennis shoes slip on the shiny floor so she fell to the ground with Taylor draped over her shoulder, yelping in surprise.

"Ow!"

"Your own bloody fault!" she giggled.

"I blame Miley for this." he muttered darkly.

"Hey!" Steph came out of nowhere and grabbed Gwen's arm. "Look at this!" she dragged her back down to the middle of the shop and pointed at the piano Gwen had left Mikey at. "Did _you_ have anything to do with this?" Steph demanded.

Gwen blinked; there were at least five girls crowded around Mikey, who was now playing a very melancholy tune, nonchalantly watching Sally from the corner of his eye. She was looking at a line of flute books and surreptitiously not looking in his direction (though she tossed her hair enough times at him).

"I _might_ have…" Gwen said, trying to squirm out of Steph's wrathful glare.

Steph narrowed her eyes and poked Gwen hard in the ribs. "Whatever foul consequence this causes, I blame _you_." and she stalked off.

Gwen sighed, and decided that while everyone was conveniently occupied in this shop, she might as well go look at some books and CDs. It was Steph's birthday over the summer, and Mikey's was some time in September: it didn't hurt to buy or simply look around in advance.

And then something caught her eye, just at the edge of her peripheral vision. It looked like someone skulking, in the sort of dangerous _waiting-to-strike_ way.

Frowning, Gwen slipped into the next aisle, and doubled back on herself, trying to find the figure. There was no one at the end, one either neighbouring aisle, or at the entrance. Concentrating, she took a deep breath, and let her mind float to the place where she could use and manipulate manna. That conscience, shifting force radiated out form her body and Gwen could sense everyone in the shop. Mikey, Kevin and Steph were familiar entities to her, and River and Taylor were as well to a certain extent. The five girls doting on Mikey, the four sales assistants…the five other shoppers in the room, and…a void.

That didn't feel right; that didn't feel right at all.

_Everything_ that lived left an energy trail, and yet here was this patch of nothingness that was circling the far aisles in wide and loopy but distinct circles.

Gwen's eyes snapped open and she followed that cavity in the energy web to the shifting source. Rounding the corner to join the gaggle of girls giggling at Mikey's suddenly jaunty song (to which he started singing), Gwen gasped. The void, where had it gone? The air round here was thick with magic, as though who ever it was had cottoned on to her probing and had hidden their presence from her.

Something creaked behind her, and Gwen spun round, sinking into a fighting stance and tensing to spring. River's exercises had honed her already sharp skills, though she had stripped the gilt from Gwen's fighting style leaving naught but the meticulously sharp blade.

A man was standing about ten feet away, possibly in his late forties with dark hair combed over a balding head, leaning down deliberately to look at boxes of recorders, but inclined towards the piano, and Gwen.

Something about the air around him shimmered with magery, but Gwen couldn't pinpoint anything. He gave a nervous looking smile, but straightened up and began walking over to her with a subtle and worrying confidence.

Gwen took a step back and tried to retreat around a corner, but he was advancing, changing his direction to match her recoil.

"Hello," he said pleasantly, in a voice like an all too well oiled hinge.

In a burst of panic, Gwen felt her aura flare wildly like a distress beacon.

_Help!_

XOXOX

"So…" Steph flickered from one book to another. "Argh! I can't decide."

Kevin wanted to curl up in a corner and sleep. He'd been up all night trying to fix his mother's car which had sustained damage when a kid further down the block managed to drive off the road and into their driveway, and the little burst of energy River had brought with her when they were prancing around to Water Potential had long since died. In essence, he was shattered, and not really prepared to deal with Steph and her demanding opinion.

"Hey,"

Sally had managed to make her way over to them without Kevin noticing.

"Hi," he said shortly, stifling a yawn.

"That Mikey character," she began.

Kevin put his foot down before it could go any further. "I'm not getting involved, go away, _leave me alone_!"

"Whoa!" Steph dropped everything and turned to stare at Sally in amazement. "_You're_ the girl dog breath's fawning over?"

Sally turned a very cool expression on the taller girl and said, "I don't ask for the attention." turning back to Kevin, she said, "And my, are we grumpy today."

"Gimme a break, I've been up all night," he whined.

Maybe it was just a phase, or maybe it was because Steph, Ben and Mikey were bad influences, but Kevin caught himself whining more and more these days.

"Listen," Steph said, reaching out as though to grab Sally's hands. "If you do decide to accept him, _please please please_! Take him and leave and never come back!"

Sally raised a delicate eyebrow over her bright blue eyes. "That bad, huh?"

"I hate his guts!" Steph hissed dramatically.

"He's okay. Once you get used to him." Kevin said shortly when Sally gave him an inquiring look. "Now stop toying with him and give a response. I'm sick of hearing these two moan about it,"

"Hah!" Steph landed him an open-hand strike to the chest, knocking the wind out of him (she had long since learned punching didn't work anymore). "Hark who's talking! You're such a bloody hypocrite!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa,"

They both looked up, poised on pouncing to see Taylor standing alongside them, arms folded and a stern look marring his carefree face. He reached out and placed a hand on their shoulders, and excused them from Sally, who shrugged and slunk off to watch Mikey from a distance.

"Now then," he said pleasantly, leading them away from the noise. "My girl's having a baby." (Kevin was sure this was going to be an ear bashing…) "And she's got five other kid's that need her professional care, as well as many more on a personal level. And she loves you both dearly, like her _own_ flesh and blood,"

"That's easy," Steph snorted unthinkingly. "She doesn't have any blood relatives."

Kevin cringed at the look on Taylor's face when he pinched her shoulder hard. His smile was still in place, but his eyes tightened and he visibly bit back a snarl.

"And you two idiots are her main source of concern right now. And, really, Steph, I love you like a sort of estranged cousin; and Kevin, don't get me wrong, you're a nice, loopy kinda guy. But if _either_ of you cause River more grief than necessary, I'll be out for blood. And I'll wear your knuckle bones round my neck and paint myself in your blood and stake your heads outside my house as a horrible warning to others." He stopped frogmarching them down the aisle and spun them both round to look him in the eye. Kevin had to look up to meet his gaze, and Steph looked him deadly straight in his dark eyes.

"_Savvy_?" Taylor demanded.

"You're way too pushy," Steph said, eyes narrowed. "No wonder she gets pissed off so easily these days."

The differences in their relationships were only heightened when Taylor stood back, and visibly straightened his spine out to gain two more full inches. Steph didn't see any authority in the man standing before them; and from the scowl them were giving each other, little respect.

"Riv goes down due to stress-related illness, I won't be happy." Taylor gave them both a hard look, before striding down to the front of the shop.

"Bless his little cotton socks," Steph began, glaring a hole through the back of his head.

"He's wearing flip-flops." Kevin pointed out in a moment of clarity.

Steph backhanded him around the head.

"Taylor _thinks_ he's got me under his control, but he hasn't." She walked away with surprising dignity for her childish antics. "I only follow orders from someone I respect and trust. And you only get that by earning it."

"You don't think he's trustworthy?" Kevin asked, half tempted to follow.

"No, he's a great guy and all," she turned to look at him briefly before continuing her stroll. "And I'd trust him with many things. But he doesn't respect me, so I won't give it back. Besides, this is probably the longest I've spent around the guy since that one fateful Christmas…"

Kevin turned away from her to go find River, not wanting to know what had happened that one December – less said about what the older team members got up to the better. Still, that was very insightful of Steph; in fact, it had to be the most profound comment she had made in all the months he'd known her.

Except that one involving Ben and a Melon shoved up his nose being a likened to the plague of humanity… That didn't really count since they had fallen down a mineshaft chasing DNAliens, and all come back out to find Gwen fretting over their apparently '_delusional_' behaviour.

Something changed in that moment, tearing Kevin from his musings.

It felt like the backlash from a powerful strike smacking him upside the back of the head, but it wasn't against his skin. He was left no time to recover before a wave of panic washed over him – only it wasn't his own.

_**Help!**_

Kevin's body moved of its own accord; it carried him at breakneck speed towards the front of the shop, where he almost ran Gwen over in the aisle. She was standing stock still, staring at something in front of her, but Kevin knew beyond a doubt the distress had come from her.

"Gwen!" he reached out to her and felt intense relief when she wrapped her arms around his waist. "You okay?" he demanded.

"Ah," a nervous sounding voice said, and Kevin looked up.

Mr Barnes was paused in mid step, looking at him in surprise.

"Hello, Kevin…" he said uncertainly.

Kevin's back was up almost at once. Although he was taken aback that the man remembered his name, it did nothing to dampen the sudden certainty that he would dismember this man if he so much as touched Gwen.

"I was saying to Ms Jenkins," he said in an offhand manner, referring to the music department's secretary. "We should get you into the school orchestra, with that musical talent of yours."

"Huh?" Kevin frowned. What was the idiot on about? Barnes had _never _heard him play anything except the drum kit he beat against the wall once to be irritating.

"There's a pile of sheet music on my desk with your name on it, one of the younger students handed it in to me. Come by some time to pick it up."

"Yeah, I will." Kevin said firmly, and steered them both away.

Gwen clung to him even when they were out of sight and earshot. She sagged against him and sighed heavily, hiding her face in his shoulder.

"What happened?" he asked, tense as a coiled spring.

"I felt a bad vibe," she said shakily. "And when I tried to find the source the person masked it with magic. And then that guy appeared, and I panicked…"

Kevin opened his mouth to say something, but he saw Mr Barnes approaching the gaggle of people by the piano, and instead sunk further away from the man's beeline.

"Kevin!" River's voice called into the fray, and he silently cursed. If there was any danger, which Gwen had sensed, he didn't want River to get hurt. "Just got a text, Max want's you all down at the – hey, you there?"

He prayed she wouldn't stray into danger, but she spotted them huddled in the corner and made her way over through the throng of people.

"I feel sick," Gwen said suddenly, leaning over with her hands on her knees.

Kevin was too busy worrying over her to see what happened next; Gwen managed to straighten up, looking very pale and queasy, with a thin film of sweat adorning her forehead. There was a gasp, and a dull thud, and when Kevin looked up again, River was on the floor, curled up in a trembling ball.

Torn between looking after his girlfriend and running to his mentor's aid, Kevin was spared the decision as Steph and Taylor descended to help her. Steph tried to pull River into a sitting position, but her body seemed to refuse to cooperate; her arms and leg's twitched, the muscles jumping sporadically, and her whole body shook with some unknown and terrifying force.

Gwen stumbled over to lend a hand, and Kevin followed automatically, helping her stay upright. She knelt down next to River and brushed the hair from her eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked shakily.

"I feel sick," she groaned. "And I trapped a nerve on the way down. My limbs are in spasm mode…"

"What do you need?" Taylor asked in a surprisingly level tone.

"Miley…" she tried to sit up, putting her arms out to support her weight, but her elbow swung out painfully underneath her, and she collapsed. "And Mel…I need to see Mel."

"Okay," he turned to Steph. "Can you call ahead?"

"Sure," Steph went from pouting bitch from earlier to dedicated service provider; she snuck outside to ring her sister while Taylor slid a hand around River's waist.

"Can you stand?"

"No…it hurts,"

Kevin reeled at the sight; River was this solid figure he was learning to respect and to look up to. She startled him at first with her clairvoyant moments and later her hormone induced fits of hysteria, but this was something altogether different.

It was almost like seeing her pain cut him deeply like a knife as well, only it wasn't a mental thing or a physical ailment with a clear remedy to staunch it. River cringed, as though being attacked by some unseen force, trying to hide her face.

Gwen gently but firmly, took her hands and pulled them away, trying to see her face, but she in turn gasped, and threw her arms out wildly as she began to topple over. Kevin caught her, by this point freaking out, and unable to demand for an explanation.

"There's something here," she said slowly, letting Kevin support her. "I can feel it. But it's hurting her,"

"Where does it hurt?" Taylor said, still calm but with a stern and determined expression.

River raised a shaking hand and motioned at the base of her skull, the gesture made vague by her flailing limbs. "Here. It wants something, I don't have it. But it won't leave me alone…"

Her words made no sense, but Kevin was too distressed to think more deeply on it now.

"Okay, we're going to the parking lot. You think you can hang on till then?"

"No…"

Taylor slipped his other arm underneath her and sat back on his haunches before standing up, gathering River up in a fireman's lift. "All right?" he asked.

She didn't say anything, face hidden behind a curtain of hair. Taylor said something to Kevin about following, but he didn't really pay attention until Gwen was tugging on his arm.

As they left the shop, Mikey came flying after them in a panic.

"What the hell!" he demanded, looking between Gwen's distressed face and Taylor's grim expression. "What's happened! You girl's all right?"

Apparently, Sally's attention meant slightly less to him at the moment than the well being of his friends. Gwen looked up, but didn't say anything; Kevin still had his arm wrapped securely around her waist.

"Jesus, Gwen, you're scaring the shit out of me. Say something!"

Gwen opened her mouth to say something, but choked on the words. Without a sound, Mikey put an arm around her shoulder and gave her free elbow a squeeze. "Let's get Miley in to have a look at you," he said eventually. "Something dodgy's going on today."

Kevin didn't begrudge Mikey for his loving gesture, especially when they reached Taylor's jeep and she pulled away from him to bury herself in Kevin's shoulder. Mikey flailed uselessly around them, and eventually settled with patting her shoulder.

"What happened? It looks bad, but they won't say a word," he said to Kevin.

"I don't know," they were both on the verge of freaking out; he could see it in the guy's eyes.

"Oh god…"

They both looked up in time to see River half fall out of the side door of the jeep, and somehow manage to propel herself around the corner of the vehicle. Times like this, and Kevin was glad he wasn't a sympathetic puker, but it didn't make it anymore pleasant to listen to her retching. Mikey reeled away, clutching his stomach and dry retching himself. Poor guy, Kevin thought to himself.

XOXOX

On the outside, Taylor had managed to find his clinical mask, and held it up with as much pride as a football supporter after their team has just been thrashed by the opposition.

Of course he was worried about Gwen, who was curled up on the sofa with Kevin, shivering over the mug of hot chocolate Miley had pressed on her, and Mikey and Ben who were hovering anxiously over them. And of course Steph was doing everything in her power to keep everyone not concerned at bay until they pinpointed the problem with which to approach a higher authority with.

But under the cool and calm mask, Taylor felt like he was being hung drawn and quartered all at the same time. The visions and headaches and general mood swings – aside from the hysterical sobbing – had been phasing out of her routine, so they all assumed River was calming down for a few months before the cycle started again. Her reaction to…what ever it was in the shop, scared Taylor more than he could ever admit, even to himself.

She had been like this only once in all the time he'd known her; they had gone to a castle in the south of France on their grand summer tour one year, and she had become slowly quieter as they climbed the tiny stone spiral steps to the first floor, where she had collapsed into a shaking mess and sobbing about wanting to get down. Something about the atmosphere had reacted badly with her, and this was not so dissimilar.

Except for the fact that it was a music shop, with no ghosts or spirits roaming around, and none of them had expected anything like this to happen.

The door to the bathroom opened, and Taylor looked up to see Miley walk stiffly over to her med box at the foot of Mel's bed, tight lipped and frowning, followed by Lea with River in his arms, cringing at something. He laid her gently down on the bed beside Taylor and mumbled something about changing his clothes.

There was an icky looking stain down his legs, so Taylor assumed River hadn't reached the toilet in time.

"What did you find?" he asked tautly.

Miley took a while to answer; looking from River's obscured face to Gwen's tired and drained one, she said, "Some disturbance in the energy flow. Both of them," she pointed. "Pulses…all _over_ the place. I've never come across anything like it before! I'm more worried about _this_ one," she patted River's foot. "At the moment. She's going to get dehydrated if she can't keep anything down."

"What can you do?" Taylor pleaded.

He was scared: scared of what force had thrown both girls so wildly out of whack; scared for River as her body rejected food and water, and rebelled against their attempts to sooth it; and he was scared for the baby, the little life nestled inside her body, and what this could do to it's development.

"Don't worry too much," Miley said without conviction. "She'd tougher than she looks, and she's fighting back. But I can't guarantee that I can help. This _might_ end up in a hospital."

Taylor swallowed and nodded. It would be the best place for her if they couldn't get her to at least drink in the next couple of days.

Miley took a syringe and started setting up for an injection, explaining how this would help keep her strength up. Then she administered it, and scrambled up to check on Gwen, who was running a temperature.

"Mmm…" River slowly started moving, and Taylor laid down beside her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. "Taylor…?"

"I'm here," he sighed with relief.

"Where am I?"

"Don't you remember?"

"No. I remember Gwen saying…asking if I was okay…and then being sick…"

"You just focus on sleeping." He said firmly. "We'll take care of the rest."

"Is Gwen okay?"

"Yeah. Running a temperature, but she's fine."

"Bad vibes," River moaned, and her body twisted painfully in response to something he couldn't' see or feel. "It was horrible…evil presence, malign…I can't explain…it was searching for something. And I found its quarry. I couldn't do anything…"

Taylor rolled her over to face him as she started crying. Apart from the fact that she couldn't afford to loose anymore liquid, when River cried it felt like someone was slowly gutting him the way he could gut a salmon. It hurt him deeply to see her like this.

"It's dangerous…it was after someone in that shop… I wanted to stop it, but I couldn't…!"

"Ssh," he stroked her face soothingly, tracing the planes of her temple and cheekbone down to her chin. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you,"

"It wasn't me…" she took a deep steadying breath. "Those kids around the piano…all attention was focused on one of them until I tried to…" she tried to go on and ended up with hiccups.

Taylor cupped the back of her neck and drew her closer. She curled up against his chest, and grudgingly went to sleep.

"Well," Miley eventually stopped interrogating Gwen long enough to check on River. "Gwen's gonna be okay. Kevin'll take her home in a bit, Steph wants to see her first though. How's this one?"

Taylor put a finger to his lips before stroking River's hair. "I think we might give the farmer's movie night a miss. I don't want to move her."

Steph ran into the room, waving her hands frantically. "Shit, crap, bugger, _drek_," her list of profanities went on until Ben shook her arm violently. "It's all going wrong!" she wailed, looking just about ready to beat her fists against the wall. "Uncle Max is demanding to know what's going on, my dad's gonna kill me, and Gerald said that Kathy is coming in three days time! On top of that, these two decided to flake out on us, and everyone's dumping the responsibility on me! _I can't cope_!"

And Mel walked in on cue to give her younger sister the support she needed.

"Bad day all round!" Miley said as she bustled around. "Go home and sleep. Gwen, call me tomorrow and we'll where to go from there. Kevin, can you keep an eye on her for a bit? Let me know if anything happens. Mikey, sit down, you look like you're about to pass out. Ben? We good? Great. Steph, shut up. You're making it a whole lot worse." She went to the top of the stairwell and shouted for her brother.

Taylor was only vaguely aware of the operation at hand, as he watched River's face in sleep. He liked the way she looked; very fair skin, hair tinged with every shade of gold, eyes with every shade the sea could produce… She was beautiful. But her skin was sallow and sickly, her cheeks stained with tears, and her hair resembled a haystack.

"How is she?" Mel sat down beside her, and laid a hand on her friend's head.

"Sick. And upset. I wish I could do more…"

"Let me," Mel said soothingly.

"Err…" they looked up to see Kevin hovering uncertainly at the foot of the bed. "I'm gonna take Gwen home. Tell River I said get well soon,"

"Will do," Taylor promised, turning his attention away from him.

"And the same to Gwen," Mel murmured.

XOXOX

**Plot moves next chapter, promise! xD so, what do you think? drop me a review and let me know!**

**xxx**


	28. Instinct

**AN: exams are nearly over YEY! :D I was surprised I found time to write this actually, what with reading up on Shakespeare and knitting this patchwork blanket and crap in general…**

**I think my brain died a while ago, all my titles used to be two or three words long and have some significance, and now they're all one word wonders that suck xD my imagination's focused else where at the moment, and I'm not entirely sure where that somewhere is ;)**

**Anyways, I mentally debated what the rating should be for this chapter, and I decided it's still T but with slightly more mature themes but I promise you nothing MASSIVELY happens**

**So! read and enjoy, and drop a review to let me know what you think :)**

_**Instinct**_

It was a surprise when River pitched up at the workshop the next day along with Taylor.

Steph had been roped into preparing for the exchange of pleasantries with Gerald's ex, so she was out of the equation, and Ben had convinced Mikey to come to soccer practise since he bragged about how he was awesome at English football.

Kevin had resigned himself to spending the morning with Lea going over the rig, but the two rolled into the garage with the intent of getting work done.

"You better now?" Lea demanded to know, following her every move.

"Yeah. I just can't eat. Been chugging coke like no one's business…"

"Wouldn't that make it worse?" Kevin asked, wanting to copy Lea's gesture but not quite daring.

"The bubbles are easy on the stomach." Taylor explained, pulling out a chair and sitting River down. "And there's a bit of sugar and stuff in there to keep her going for a bit without food."

"Keep your distance," she warned, setting herself down at the table and taking out a stack of papers. "I don't feel very stable within myself." And she set about reading and annotating her papers.

"So," Lea said in a low voice to Taylor as they set themselves down in the corner with the rig. "How's she doing this morning?"

"Bit better," Taylor rubbed his bruised looking eyes. "She kept me up most of the night. I think she was having nightmares…"

"But she'll be okay…right?" Kevin asked, feeling unnecessarily anxious.

"Oh yeah," Lea put in, fiddling with a screwdriver. "She'll bounce back sooner or later."

"I think it'll take more than a few needle points and some incense to make this go away." Taylor said pointedly.

"It's all the same with you," Lea snapped suddenly. "Doom and gloom. With a helping of death and destruction. Lighten up, mate! Thing's could be worse."

"Yeah," Kevin was taken aback by the vicious edge to Taylor's voice. "Say's the guy who hasn't been in a relationship since high school and hasn't got to worry about their unborn baby _as well_ as their girlfriend's health."

Lea, spread-eagled on the floor looking at the under carriage of the computer, paused in his tweaking to consider his words.

"Touché. That is an excellent point, my good man."

"You know I'm not deaf, right?" River said from her paperwork.

"Sorry baby," Taylor said reflexively.

"Won't happen again honey-bun," Lea muttered.

"May you rot in your sleep you…" she uttered a few words that made Taylor laugh.

"It's a curse," he told Kevin when he looked at him quizzically. "She's hoping he gets eaten by a bear and his buttons are found in the scat."

"River?" Kevin called to her.

"What?" she called back in a resigned voice.

"Can you teach me to swear in other Earth languages?"

"When I'm off duty." Was the response.

The morning progressed, and the computer system was more or less finished, so Kevin went to work on his car instead. Lea sat around pestering River and Taylor kept on carving wood. They stopped to wonder about going to get some lunch when Taylor got a call from the guy who owned the property they had been considering.

"Good news!" he grinned when he finished the call.

"Thank you!" River threw her hands half-heartedly into the air. "There _is_ a God!"

"We can go survey the house,"

"Bully for you," Lea grumbled.

Taylor and River swore at him in unison, and Kevin laughed.

"Dunno if it's funny or scary the way you do that," he told them.

River rolled her eyes dramatically and got up from her seat. "Steph stocks tea and stuff here, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, through there," Kevin nodded. There was a small room with a tiny sink and a slightly bigger table where they sometimes made drinks.

The only people who used it were Miley and Lea, as far as Kevin knew.

"Oooh, hot chocolate!" River crowed.

"Not too hot," Taylor called after her. "You can-"

"Damage the lining of the stomach. Spare me a lecture, I know more about biology than you do," she snapped.

"Just saying," Taylor sighed.

"Aww," Lea cooed. "Too much of a handful for you?"

"Too bad there's a witness," Taylor said, testing his blade on a piece of broken wood. "I could think of many arteries that would not want to get nicked."

"I could close my eyes," Kevin offered.

"Cool, dude," Taylor grinned.

"No murders." River snapped, slamming the kettle on. "Not on _my _watch. You have any idea how much paperwork that takes to sort out?"

"Kill joy!" Lea giggled like a little girl at her scowl.

"You guys so aren't worth the effort."

Kevin pulled a face that sometimes worked on Gwen; the puppy dogface. "Am I?"

"Kevin," River stood behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. "I would clear the Amazon forests to get the paper I'd need for you."

"Cause I'm worth it?" he asked for clarification.

"Now," she took one hand from his shoulder to gesture as she spoke. "Normally I'd do the whole L'Oreal thing but I don't trust my balance today."

"Like this?" Lea whipped his head back and ran his finger's through his hair with a weird expression on his head.

"You spack…" Taylor clutched his sides as he laughed.

Kevin picked up the model he had been working on and weighed it in his hands. "What's this?" he asked.

Taylor gave Lea a shove and reached over for it. "Pass it here. It's _supposed_ to be a wolf, but this thing sort of materialised out of nowhere," he showed them the wooden blob by the head. "It's a bird," he said in answer to Lea's questioning look.

"With a long beak," Kevin added, touching the point with his index finger. "Cool." Taylor took it back and started gently shaving layers of wood off the figure.

"Takes time, and years of practise," Taylor went on, turning it over in his hands and inspecting something Kevin couldn't see. "But it pays off. In more ways than one,"

"Girls like a man with _dexterity_," Lea sniggered.

Taylor turned and said with dignity, "Yes, yes they do Lyndon. Which is why _I've_ been in a relationship for the last five years and _you_ haven't."

Lea blinked, and said, "Hey, isn't your anniversary coming up?"

"Oh yeah!" Taylor slapped his forehead with his free hand. "Shit, I need to think of something!"

"Flowers? Chocolates?" Lea suggested.

"Now look here, kid." Taylor turned to Kevin with a very serious and authoritive tone. "Everything that this guys does about relationships? Don't do it."

"What?" Lea demanded. "Fluffy crap works like a charm!"

"Not on everyone," Taylor snapped back. "A new charm for her bracelet or a nice necklace with something meaningful on it would be best. Not superficial crap that only lasts ten days,"

Lea was about to retaliate when they were all pulled up short by the horrible shriek that rent the air. Kevin jumped to his feet, for one wild moment thinking a DNAlien was descending upon them; but Taylor and Lea were already halfway across the room before he worked out what was going on.

River was lying on the floor, curled up into the foetal position, and screaming like an animal in pain. It was horrible to watch, and it cut Kevin more deeply than he could have imagined.

"What's wrong?" Lea shouted to Taylor.

"River! It's me! Calm down, what's wrong?"

"It hurts!" she screamed, clawing at her face. "It hurts so much!" she was thrashing around like a fish caught in a net.

"Calm down! What do we do?" Lea demanded of Taylor.

His answer was to shove the younger man out of his way and scoop River up in his arms. Kneeling on the floor, supporting her upper body, Taylor put a hand on her forehead and murmured something. Almost at once the thrashing and screaming stopped, but she curled herself into a tight ball and started sobbing.

"It won't go away. I can't make it go away…"

"Could you get Miley over here, please?" Taylor asked in a low voice.

Lea ran to get his phone, and Taylor settled himself down with his back against the wall. River shook like a leaf in autumn, and Kevin wanted to do something to help, but he felt the overwhelming inadequacy of his medical skills and bedside manner.

"She's okay…isn't she?" he asked tentatively.

"She will be," Taylor didn't look up from his stricken face. "Something's thrown her. I'm sure we can deal with it."

"It's him…" River suppressed a sob, and gave herself hiccups.

"Who?" he stroked her hair soothingly.

"There was a man…he- he was after something. St-stalking more li…like. It hit me so hard I fell…and it wouldn't stop…hurting…"

"Who was this man?"

Kevin had to admire the man's calm demeanour. If Gwen had fallen over screaming like that he would probably have had a heart attack by now and have been in hysterics.

"I don't know. I… saw him somewhere before, but I…don't know where." She stopped.

"Did he say anything? Do anything to you?"

"Not me. He didn't want me. He's after someone else." The sobs were subsiding, giving way to rapidly rising hysteria. "But I got snared in his attention, and now I can't get out, and I know he's after something, but I don't know what, or how to stop him, or-!"

"Ssh," Taylor put a hand over her eyes to block out the light, and she started sobbing again. "It's okay. You couldn't have done anything just now. Take a deep breath,"

"On their way," Lea was hanging over Kevin's shoulder, face fraught with worry. "What's she babbling about?"

"A man with a tendency to stalk." Taylor said slowly and deliberately. Then, in a lower tone, "There was a shifty looking guy at the mall yesterday,"

Kevin shrugged when the questioning gaze was turned to him. "I saw the head of music from my school there. But there's loads of weirdoes that hang round that mall."

Lea started tinkering with his bike to pass the time, and Taylor sat with River until she calmed down and eventually drifted into a light sleep. Kevin sat down nearby, too distracted to do any work.

"How do you do that?" he asked finally. "You didn't freak out or anything back there,"

Taylor unexpectedly laughed. "Trust me, being with someone like River keeps you on your toes. There's not a lot that fazes me anymore. When you want to be with someone who has a complicated medical history and a tendency to get hit hard spiritually from time to time, you either like it or lump it. The way I see it," he tenderly brushed the thick fringe from her face. "River's worth every bit of the trouble she gives me."

"You scare me when you two get all mushy like that," Lea grumbled from his toolbox.

"If you can't handle someone at their worst," Taylor said smoothly and pointedly, "then you don't deserve them at their best."

"But the way you two go on…not everyone has their own perfect little love bubble, you know."

Taylor frowned. "Who said anything about bubbles? What does that have to do with relationships?"

River sat up so suddenly she startled everyone even before she screamed; she clapped her hands over her mouth and winced, leaning against Taylor's shoulder.

"Someone said bubble," she said desperately.

"Lea's being a prick." Taylor informed her.

"Okay." she nodded, closing her eyes and sinking back down again. "Okay, that's okay…" and she went under again.

"God preserve me from having to deal with this crap if I ever get my girlfriend knocked up…" Lea said with a ghost of humour.

"Kevin? Do me a favour. Next time you go to that side of the room, would you slap him for me?"

"Sure thing?" Kevin saluted, not really having the heart to joke around.

"At least she hasn't got a thing about blobs." Taylor said with certainty. "Can you imagine Steph freaking out like this? It would be a bloody nightmare."

The image of Steph screaming about blobs managing to get a genuine laugh out of Kevin. "Let's not go there…I don't want to get scarred for life again."

XOXOX

The week was, in a word, shit.

Ben had a match coming up, so he was training more often than not; Steph was stuck being pleasant to Gerald's ex wife while her own father hovered in the background looking and feeling extremely uncomfortable. Mikey, who knew just enough martial arts to be able to teach it, was helping Gwen train for her grading by acting as the duty punch bag.

The twins had escaped the Smith-Tanner house to stay at the farm and keep an eye on River while she slowly came back to reality. It was scary to see such a confident and authoritive, not to mention happy and playful person in such a state as that.

Not only were his team members acting up, people at school were too. Kevin was worried that he'd finally gone completely soft in the heart when people were starting to ask him for things in art like brushes and paint pots, and at one point one of the girls even asked his opinion on their sketch of a zebra, with her debating at length on the animal's colouration.

Since when had had anyone wanted his opinion on art? And since when had he cared about zebras and whether they were black with white stripes or white with black stripes?

And then Sally started talking to him on their way to the parking lot from the lockers. It was nice to be able to talk to a normal person who didn't have any alien hang ups in their life. But he couldn't help but feel that there was an ulterior motive there, in the way she always seemed to be parked right next to him, or so close there was no difference, so that she didn't leave the campus alone.

Kevin talked to Gwen about it one evening when they actually managed to have most of the team at Mr Smoothies. Ben told him he was being paranoid, and Mikey suggested that a guy on the football team was stalking her and she wanted someone to smash their face in.

"Don't get me wrong, you're a nice guy," Mikey told him over a blueberry smoothie. "But I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of you. I like my face the way it is – pale, pasty, and my nose at this angle."

Gwen laughed it off and said maybe he was just becoming soft. He scowled, and accepted the advice and complements all the same. Ben made a jibe about him losing his 'bad boy' attitude, but Mikey casually remarked when he went for refills that its not a bad thing when people feel safe around you.

It was this last comment that Kevin found himself hinging on a few days later.

It was heading towards the end of the week, and the music secretary caught Kevin at the end of school on Thursday and told him that there was some paperwork on Mr Barnes' desk for him. Internally grumbling, he stalked up the stairs to his office and roughly shoved the door open, banging it loudly against the shelves behind it. His masterpiece lay rumpled and forgotten on the neat and precise desk, and he snatched them up and rifled through to make sure there were none missing.

Kevin started cursing under his breath at the loud and rude red pen streaks that painted the light and polite pencil markings River had helpfully sketched in, when he heard a noise come from the room next door. He stopped what he was doing to listen closely, and he heard another sound, like a dull thud followed by the scraping of chair legs on the floor, and a painful whimper.

Silently, Kevin snuck outside into the hallway, and crept towards the next room. There were about half a dozen practise rooms where students could go during timetabled lessons, or if they were having a private music lesson. The last lesson ended about an hour before school did, and no one else was in the department. At least, they _shouldn't_ be, since the secretary was on her way to her car, leaving the cleaners to lock up.

A lower, male voice murmured something unintelligible behind the door, and Kevin distinctly heard the word "No," before the familiar sound of flesh being slapped preceded a groan of pain.

Being used to slapping Steph round the face when she got on his nerves, Kevin knew the sound, but this sounded far more forceful and violent. He decided then and there to kick the door in, and charged the room.

Whatever he had been expecting, the reality was a thousand times worse.

Sally Newman was crouched on the floor in the far corner, covering her face in her hands and quietly crying. The head of music stood over her, with his hand held up to strike, his back turned to Kevin.

It wasn't a conscious decision to leap forward and attack; Kevin ran on pure instinct. He lunged for the man, crashing into his side heavily and throwing him across the room. The man yelled in surprise, and Sally screamed, cringing into her corner as much as humanly possible. Mr Banes sat up awkwardly and glared up at his attacker until he saw Kevin's face, and he trembled under his anger.

"You stay the _hell_ away from her!" he snarled, part of his mind wondering vaguely if this was how Lea felt just before he pounced to tear someone's throat out, remembering the terrified Lupus scattering.

Mr Barnes was reduced to a gibbering wreck, and flailed helplessly under Kevin's wrath. Despite the over powering urge to punch the man for good measure, Kevin tore himself from his pathetic fear and turned back to Sally; he crouched down beside her and gently took her by the elbows, lifting her up off the floor.

Sally clung desperately to his arms, head cast down so she didn't have to look him in the eye.

"You okay?" he asked.

Sally gave him one short and sharp nod, nothing else.

Not having a clue of how to handle the situation, Kevin led her out of the room, and out of the building to his car in the parking lot. First things first, he'd get her out of the school, and then he could call someone for help. Just who would be a tricky question, since they were up to their armpits in ailments and commitments.

It was only when they were out in the late afternoon sunlight that he noticed Sally was hunched over, trying to hide the huge rip in her top.

A few things ran through his mind as he wordlessly bundled her into the passenger seat; first of all, being that he needed to get River in on this for Sally's sake, and secondly, his old green coat was loafing around in the trunk.

Kevin handed it to her wordlessly and she took it without comment. He gunned the engine and drove back to his house, not knowing where else to go; it gave his mother the freight of her life when he barged through the front door with a weeping girl she'd never seen before.

"Kevin! What on _earth_-?"

"One sec," he pleaded, checking the living room. Cain looked just as startled as his mother, and Crystal decided she would come to check out what was going on.

"Hey Kevin! Who's that? Is it Gwen?"

"Not now, pipsqueak," he said, gently shoving her into the TV room.

"Kevin Ethan Levin," his mother began in a warning tone.

"Mom, is there somewhere quiet Sally could go for the moment?" he pleaded with her.

She appraised him before shooing Crystal back into the room with her father and taking Sally by the arm and steering her towards the spare room. Kevin grabbed the landline, but found he couldn't remember River's number off by heart. Cursing, he realised he'd have to get his cell to find it, which would waste time.

"Kevin," his mother grabbed his arm before he could retreat. "If you don't explain yourself _right this minute_,"

"Look!" he said in defeat, throwing his hands above his head. "It's a long story! I was in the music department and I heard a struggle in one of the practise rooms and I found the head of department assaulting my classmate!"

He would have laughed at her expression under normal circumstances, but this was far from humorous.

"What did you do?"

"Smack him one," he snarled, wishing he'd done more now. "I didn't know what to do, so I brought her back here."

"What lesson do you have with her?"

"Art."

"Have you called the police?"

Now there was an idea that hadn't crossed his mind; Kevin had been rattling off people he trusted enough to get involved, and the police hadn't even featured on the list.

"No. I wanted to call Dr Collins."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," she turned back down the hallway to the spare room. "Poor girl! Is there anything I could do to help?"

Kevin considered. It was a novelty being in control of the situation in this house; it was actually quite daunting.

"Hot chocolate," he said, remembering Miley's lecture on 'a mentally healthy patient is a happy patient'. "And keep her," he jabbed a thumb at the living room door, "out of it."

"Yes, yes," she started fussing and bustled off into the kitchen.

Kevin dithered for a moment, wondering where to go to next, when the phone rang. He answered automatically, and was relieved to hear River's voice.

"_I'm running on autopilot and I felt that I had to call you but promptly forgot why_." She said in a worried voice. "_Has anything happened?_"

"Thank _God_," he groaned, and related what had happened. "I don't want to bother you when you're not feeling well," he said at the end when she didn't respond. "But I don't know what else to do."

"_No_," she said, and he could imagine the expression on her face. "_No, of course not. It's no trouble, give me ten minutes and I'll be there. Are there any injuries that need checking? I can bring Miley with me, if-_"

"Fewer people the better, I think. At the moment,"

"_Okay. Sit tight honey, I'll be there as soon as I can,_" and she rang off.

XOXOX

Everything moved in a dreamlike way to Cari as she made drinks.

She was worried for the girl that had curled up in the corner on the floor of the spare room instead of the comfortable chair by the desk, and she was concerned for Kevin's safety after that teacher had attacked another student.

Not known for his outstanding honesty at all times, he wouldn't make something up on this scale by bringing in someone to act on his behalf. She half expected to get a snide comment out of Cain, but when he quietly asked her when Kevin wasn't around what had happened, he listened intently, and left without a word to keep Crystal occupied.

The doorbell rang, and Kevin beat Cari to it; River Collins came in, followed by Gwen and a man she didn't recognise who looked to be Native American.

"I said fewer the better!" Kevin snapped at her as he led them into the kitchen.

"I thought someone of the same age and gender would help," River said simply. "Having someone slightly more relatable to listen to you can be quite a comfort."

The unknown man, who towered over the rest of them by quite a margin grumbled, "You think I'd let her out of my sight after what happened last time?"

Gwen just took Kevin's hand wordlessly, and wormed her way into his embrace.

"Now what?" he asked River.

"Where is she?"

"At the end of the hall on the right."

"Okay," she turned on her heel. "I'll see what I can do."

"Oh, wait a moment!" Cari grabbed a tray and set the mugs of hot chocolate on them. "Could you give this to her for me?"

"I can do that," River said, taking the tray from her with a smile.

"Do you need a ha-?" the man began.

"No," she said flatly, stalking out of the room.

"She _can_ carry a tray by herself you know," Gwen said with narrowed eyes at him.

Kevin sighed, and sagged against the counter. "I have a headache…"

"Not surprised," the man snorted. "Sounds like you've had a barrel of laughs today. What the hell happened?"

Kevin pulled the mask off and dumped it on the counter behind him, and rubbed his eyes before explaining yet again. Gwen listened closely before kissing his cheek when he finished.

"Bloody hell…"he shook his head. "Riv's got her work cut out sorting this one…"

"I'm terribly sorry," Cari said at last, feeling guilty for not knowing this man. "But I don't believe we've met."

"Oh!" he jumped to his feet from the chair he had claimed and reached out to shake her hand firmly. "I'm Taylor. Taylor Pelkey, I'm River's boyfriend."

"Pleasure to meet you," she said politely, warming to him at once.

Kevin and Gwen slunk out of the room as the two of them started chatting, and it felt nice to bring some normalcy back into the kitchen. Cari asked about where he lived, where he had been born, what he did for a living, all the usual small talk. He was an exceptionally interesting person, but their conversation was cut short by River's arrival, and Kevin raced in after her to demand a verdict.

"Okay. Gwen's with her at the moment, and talking about random things. I don't want her left on her own at the moment," she paused and took a deep breath before saying, "No physical harm was done, but this is a case of indecent assault which needs to be addressed by the correct authorities, and Kevin," she motioned for him to come closer, and put her hands on his shoulders. "That man she was talking about. I remember seeing someone similar in that music store the other day. Was it the same man?"

"Yeah, right before you keeled over and died."

"And did you ever feel uneasy around him before then?"

"He's a slime ball." Kevin said with disgust. "I never trusted that douche bag from the beginning."

River closed her eyes, and did something a bit unexpected; she leant forward and pressed her forehead against his, and put her hands behind his head.

"_You_," she said slowly and deliberately. "Have _very_ good instincts. And for the love of god don't ever lose that." She released him and took a step back.

Cari couldn't be quite sure, but River's eyes seemed to change colour for a moment to a bright and piercing blue; but of course, as she moved through the room the light levels changed, so it was probably just a trick of the sunlight as they were back to that border-line grey-blue colour.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she offered.

River considered before smiling awkwardly and saying, "Could I borrow your house phone to call the police?"

"Of course," and she went to get the handset.

"Thank you," River smiled again, although it didn't reach her eyes. "Do you mind if I ask them to come here? Rather than move Sally, because I really don't want to do that at the moment."

"No, no. That's fine, just do whatever you feel needs to be done." Cari insisted. She trusted this woman a great deal more than most people she'd known her whole life. Also, she had her Plumber's badge tacked to the pocket of her jeans, which would over ride any decision the local authorities made if she felt it was wrong.

"Okay," River mouthed the numbers of the emergency services as she pressed the buttons before holding the handset to her ear. "Hello, I'd like the Police service. There's been an incident at the local high school involving two students and a teacher. Yes, I've spoken to both of them and it appears that there has been a case of indecent assault." She was so calm and collected and detached from the emotional side of the situation as she spoke. "Yes, I'm Dr River Collins, Plumber code 58539." She gave a number to call and an address to visit, and talked through the details she had gained.

Kevin excused himself to go check on the girls and disappeared with his mask tucked under his arm. When River finished the call she put the phone down and sighed with relief. "I absolutely _hate_ doing that," she glared at the hand set. "I always manage to get the prim and prissy little princess of the call centre. And it's a nightmare to get anything arranged.

Taylor laughed, and put an arm around her shoulders. "Naval upbringing." He told Cari. "Her dad has this professional voice he uses on the phone. Guess it's just something about being in the forces."

Cari laughed. "Kevin's father did that, too."

"He's a good kid," River said, letting Taylor hug her. "Great guy. You must be so proud of him."

"Yes, I am." She smiled. "Very much so."

XOXOX

Hoping that he would never get involved with the law again had been a stupid idea, Kevin reflected later that night. Cain had tactfully, and surprisingly, taken Crystal out to eat somewhere so that she was out of the way when the police came. The female officer was professional and clinical to a painful degree; she had Sally in tears again when it came to getting a statement, and River almost had an argument with the woman when she asked if they could take a moment to calm the poor girl down.

The ire in her face was accentuated by the sudden flash of green, which unnerved Kevin. Normally, they were grey, and strong positive emotions were accompanied by a blue tint; green, like acid, was something that didn't suit River, or her personality.

Kevin got angry when the officer turned on Gwen to demand an explanation, and wouldn't expect the excuse of, "He's my boyfriend."

Taylor groaned when River asked if they could step outside for a moment, and Kevin tried to catch the conversation, which from what he could make out was a one-sided professional ear bashing on River's part. When they came back, the clinical demeanour of the officer was gone, replaced by a shocked and exposed expression, and River took the statement herself, flashing her Plumber's badge at anyone her tried to stop her.

"Stupid bint," Taylor muttered just as the police car left. "Needs knocking down a peg or three."

"I think River took down more than that," Gwen said dryly.

More like a couple dozen, though Kevin didn't say so out loud. He had reached the point where he would have liked nothing more than to curl up into a ball and go to sleep.

"Right," River was pacing around the living room with the rest of them seated on the sofa and many armchairs. "They'll deal with that. Sally? Honey, I think now it's best to take you home."

Sally nodded dully. She was sitting between Kevin and Gwen, and dolefully accepting Gwen's hug of support. She had almost gained her old self again after sitting with Gwen for half an hour earlier, but that stupid policewoman had torn her confidence down to an even lower level.

"Okay. I'll talk to your parents, so you can go straight to bed and have a nice long sleep."

"You sound like the worst doctor…" Taylor chuckled.

"I will deal with _you_ later," she said menacingly. "Come on, sweetheart," she added, helping Sally up.

She went without complaint, and hovered at the door while River turned on Kevin again.

"I'll be in contact tomorrow to see how you're doing," she bent down to give him a hug, which he wholeheartedly returned. "What you did was moral and brave, and not at all stupid. Well done and thanks," she ruffled his hair before leaving with Taylor.

"Well," said Cari, checking her watch. "Goodness! Is that the time? Gwen dear, it's getting rather late."

"I texted my parents earlier to let them know where I was." Gwen said flawlessly. "Actually, I was wondering if I could stay the night?"

Kevin stared at her and she glowered from the corner of her eyes. How outspoken! Was he really such a bad influence?

"Yes, that's fine. As long as your parents are happy about it."

"They are,"

Her father certainly wasn't…

"Well, I'm going to bed," she yawned widely. "It's very late. Don't stay up too long, you two," and she left the room, looking very worn out.

"My mom puts up with too much crap from me." Kevin lamented, leaning back against the arm of the sofa and pulling his mask off. The tension in his skull was relieved somewhat.

"What else could you have done?" Gwen persisted, patting him knee. "You did the right thing."

"I just wish I didn't make her life so difficult." Kevin sighed and rubbed his temples. He felt Gwen's lips pressed themselves against the corner of his mouth, and he opened his eyes to look her in the face. "Go away."

"No," she smirked at him. "You love it really."

"Why do I have the feeling you learnt that from me…?"

"No idea," she said innocently.

"Come on, I'm tired." He sat up and dragged her down to the basement.

Kevin threw the spare mattress down on the floor, along with a few spare blankets and a pillow before finding a shirt for Gwen to borrow. He turned his back for a moment to find a decent hairbrush, and when he turned around again, Gwen was snuggled up under the blanket on the mattress.

"Hey, that's _my_ patch! I gave you the bed," he whined.

Gwen patted the spot beside her, smiling sweetly. Kevin sighed dramatically and flopped down beside her, dumping the hedgehog brush and worming his way under the blanket.

"You're annoying," he told her gruffly.

"And you're a good person," she said simply.

"Not this again…just cause _you_ think it, doesn't mean that-"

Gwen cut him off mid-sentence by kissing him. "You know what happened today?"

"Yeah, but-"

"I rest my case."

Kevin bit back a snarl; he _hated_ being proven wrong.

"Just go to sleep," Gwen told him, wrapping her arms around his chest and nestling her cheek against his shoulder.

He grumbled but complied and relaxed, letting the tension out of his body for the first time since the end of school that day.

"I love you," Gwen said into the comfortable darkness.

Kevin felt the goofy grin spread over his face. "I love you too."

"I love you more," she said quickly.

Kevin sat up so he could look her in the eye. She smiled sweetly, and he groaned, making her giggle.

"I am _so_ not playing this game."

"I guess I win," Gwen said flippantly.

Kevin couldn't resist the challenge in her voice; he pushed her down so she was lying on her back and kissed her lips vigorously. She submitted readily, and he almost forgot what sparked the retaliation in the first place.

Eventually, they parted, both breathing heavily, and she closed her eyes, leaning back against the pillow. Her lips, swollen and bruised from abuse, looked all the more tempting.

"You win," Gwen murmured.

Kevin grinned, and kissed the hollow beneath her ear. "I knew you'd see things my way," he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"I'll get you back," she warned in an unconvincing tone.

Kevin didn't say anything; he was far too comfortable and sleepy to do more than register what she was saying. He felt her fingers intertwine themselves in his hair, and her hand caress the side of his face. The last thing he clearly remembered was feeling her lips on his forehead.

XOXOX

**I wanted to end on a fluffy note, but it seemed a bit too abstract compared to the rest for me to get away with saying 'it contrasts the rest of the chapter'. Yeah, A level English taught me it's not a valid excuse. Shakespeare! I'm looking at YOU xD though I prefer that to Shelley, I HATE Frankenstein with a fiery passion (gothic genre is not my cup of tea…)**

**And so, as the sun sets on another day (about five hours ago here but still…xD)**

**As always, feedback is greatly appreciated :) **Spoonful of Lead** I owe you about ten life time's supply of cookies for the reviews you give me :D they're always greatly encouraging :)**

**Well, one more exam left, which is two hours long. And I might just curl up in a box of leaves for it cause I'm not happy with the subject matter or the fact that I have to take an exam at all xD if I don't make it back to the internet, it just have this to say: so long, and thanks for all the fish! :D**

**xxx**


	29. Shark Bait

**AN: so, I meant to start this and finish it later, but it just sort of got out of hand xD I was having a really interesting conversation with someone about aquariums, and I was like….IDEA! xD anyways, I'll keep this note short cause its late and I have an exam tomorrow on medieval and renaissance literature (oh joy! :'( ) and I want to be awake for it… xD**

**BTW lame title again, couldn't think of anything else at the time ;)**

_**Shark Bait**_

"So," Mel said pleasantly, carefully choosing her wool from the box on the floor. "What's the status report?"

Miley fiddled with her pen, thinking of something to write on the form. How was she supposed to know if she needed to give jabs when the system locked her badge out? Stupid reboot protocol…

They were convened in the living room for once, watching a David Attenborough special on TV, and waiting for the arrival of the masses from school before trundling off to the bowling alley for some 'quality family time'. Steph was dreading Kathy's return from the shops today…

"We're all going to die horribly," River recited, not really paying much attention. She had been spaced out all morning, and as the evening drew in, it only grew deeper.

"Wow, haven't heard you say that one in a while," Miley scowled at her complaint sheet. "Why couldn't I just get you to get the med records for me?"

"Because I don't have access to them; I can only look up family medical records for certain biological psychopathologies, court cases, and a random fact sheet that the Intergalactic Society of Science spews out every other month. Not exactly the most riveting of papers…"

"More access than _I_ can get at the moment."

Stupid Earth tech being so stupidly low level…

"And why do you think we're all going to die horribly?" Mel asked, redirecting the conversation.

"Well, Kevin's got mixed up in this incident that happened at school involving another student and a teacher-"

"What, did he blow up a lab or something?" Miley demanded. She had been a bit worried; God only knew what Kevin would get up to if Steph and Ben were goading him. Mikey was…somewhat more mature…_some_ of the time…

"No. He walked in on a teacher trying to molest a student. I think it was a girl in his art class. Anyway, he was begging forgiveness when I called him because he didn't want to stress me out, but I went over anyway, and I'm glad I did." She snorted with laughter. "Can you imagine him talking to a policeman? He'd probably rip their head off. _I_ nearly did."

"Oh, what happened?"

"Well," River had been doodling on the back of a disused spreadsheet, and left it to look Miley in the eye. "Basically everything about her was unprofessional and she had the poor girl in tears after Gwen and I had calmed her down to the point where she was willing to give a statement. I was just about ready to hit the bloody stupid woman…"

Miley grimaced. "No wonder you were so cranky when I called this morning."

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Mel asked.

River and Miley exchanged looks before meeting Mel's piercing gaze.

"Most probably. She and Kevin didn't go to school today, and I sent Mikey to go with them to the police station. Lea was going to meet them there and sort out any heavy-duty paperwork cause none of them are eighteen yet. Plus, I don't think I trust Kevin to keep his mouth shut."

Miley shook her head in disbelief.

"Oh, what did I do _now_? I let Taylor talk me into _promising_ I was going to take it easy today. The most strenuous thing I've done all day is carry a plate into the kitchen!"

"You're always picking up after other people's messes…"

"Yeah? Well it's not exactly _their_ fault, is it?" River startled her by dumping her doodle, pencil case, and the book se was leaning against on the floor and turning her angry gaze Miley.

"Kevin doesn't trust easily. Quite frankly, I'm amazed he ever took to Steph of all people as quickly as he did. And he trusts _me_, a psychologist he's known for a couple of months. Even without all that, do you honestly think I would have left he to sort it out himself?"

Miley was hard pressed not to snarl in return; everything River said made absolute and perfect sense. She _hated_ being proven wrong as a general rule.

"The main thing is," Mel swiftly diffused the tension in so many syllables. "You were there for him when he needed help."

Unexpectedly, River slumped against the sofa, sighing heavily. "Not this again, _please_. I want to curl up in a box of leaves and hibernate for the next six months. Then I won't have to deal with _you _and your assumptions." She shot an accusing glare at Mel from under her tragically placed arm that just hid her face.

"Oh, now I _am_ intrigued." Miley teased. "Do tell, Melanie."

"I think River found her own little lost soul to look after." She said simply, without a trace of teasing humour.

"Go away," River groaned.

"Which one? We have, like…how many kids are you supposed to be caring for?" she nudged River's foot.

"Oh God…the list never ends…!"

"About ten." Mel supplied.

"You're so hard done by, aren't you?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact." River sat up straight to look her in the eye, and Miley quailed under the intensity of her next words. "They all have the innate ability to attract any trouble within a fifty mile radius. But they're all good kids, really. Hearts' in the right place… I just feel sometimes that they take too much on themselves, but I'm glad Kevin saved Sally Newman."

"_What_?" Miley wanted to chase after Mikey and shake him hard. "The girl Kevin saved from getting raped is _Mikey's crush_?"

It was River's turn to look startled. "I thought you knew,"

Miley was beside herself. "What the hell! Is he actually stupid or something?"

"Calm down, calm down!" River fussed over her, but she wouldn't be consoled. "It's not like any of us planned it,"

"Oh he is _so_ dead when he gets home." She snarled.

Scoring on the…well, it wasn't exactly a rebound, but still! She was feeling low and defenceless, and Mikey was going to take advantage of that? He laid so much as a finger on her indecently, and Miley would personally escort what was left of him to their mum and dad in a matchbox and explain why she had vaporised his corpse.

"He's not like that," Mel said softly. "You should know your brother better than this."

Miley deflated the same way River had earlier. "I don't even know why I'm freaking out…"

"You two do have over active auras at the moment." Mel added conversationally.

"Mmm," River kneaded her forehead. "I'm getting weird vibes here there and everywhere. That little run in at the music shop's thrown me completely. I don't know where I've come from, where I am or where I'm even going anymore."

"Needle session?" Miley grabbed her wrist before she could protest.

"Whatever," she sulked like a small child, making Miley laugh. "I'm thinking of going to the hospital for blood tests and stuff sometime. And I should probably get a scan done as well…"

Miley ran upstairs to get her ultra fine needles, tripping over Steph in the process. She, along with her father and stepbrother, were sprawled on the floor playing go fish.

"Having fun?" she teased, up turning the medical box in her quest for her needles.

"Barrel's of it." Steph snapped.

Miley had only had a few brief encounters with Gerald's ex-wife, but that was enough to dissuade her from ever getting involved in their family politics. Even River, one of the most forbearing and patient people she knew, couldn't stand the woman unless contact was left to very small and widely spaced helpings.

Michelle was mostly to blame, since she insisted that Tom, Dylan (who was out of state) and the twins needed to see their mother and have some sort of relationship with her. When Steph and Mikey had pressed River for an opinion, she merely remarked that Michelle had a point and that you should be somewhat close to your parents before running out of the conversation.

She would never bad mouth extended family member, even if they deserved it.

"She's hoping the world's in jeopardy by dinner time." Tom was mildly amused.

"Are you even _enjoying_ having _her_ in the house?" Steph demanded.

Ian frowned at her. "Stephenie,"

"But dad!" she whined at him the same way she always did when she was trying to win an argument she knew she had already lost. "_You_ don't feel comfortable about it either, do you?"

"That's none of me business," he told her sternly.

"Aren't I your business?"

"Well…" that threw him. "Yes, of course you are, don't be stupid." He patted her head and she scowled at him. "But it's not my place to say anything about Kathy."

"Just say it, Ian." Tom grimaced, and Miley paused on the stair well just long enough to hear what he had to say. "She's not the easiest person in the world to get along with… And family life improved greatly when this lot came along."

"Aww, that's the nicest thing you've said to me in my whole life!" Steph said as Miley descended to the floor below.

An argument must have broken out because there was a loud thud and raised voices, but Miley was on a mission and she must not let herself be distracted.

As it turned out, there was only so much she could do; after tweaking different points, and feeling the pulses again and again, Miley had to give up. She wasn't as aware of the movement of energy as River was, though she could manipulate it to some degree. "Are you going to go up to BC again soon about the house?"

"Probably." River yawned, closing her eyes so she didn't have to watch the needle go into her ankle.

This point was a bit tricky; the first time Miley had used it on her she had hit the roof screaming and kicked her in the stomach. It was a very receptive chi channel, and while River could exert some level of control over her reactions, it was still one of her least favourite points.

"I'd like to talk to Dianne. And I guess we need to face the music."

"What music?"

"She hasn't told Daphne and George yet." Mel told her.

"You are just breeding problems for yourself," Miley scolded her.

River's face went unexpectedly red. "Could we just stop with the jokes? I'm getting enough of that from Lea. I know, I was stupid and reckless and having a baby. I don't need you to tell me my life story!"

"All right, keep your hair on. I didn't mean it that way," Miley had to tread carefully now or she might set River off on a hysterical note for the next half hour.

"I am just the _worst_ company right now…" she sniffled.

"No!" Miley hugged her as best she could over the be-needled limbs. "You're going through a most wonderful and somewhat frustrating phase of your life, that's all. It's all worth it in the end,"

"Yeah, but I worry too much! You know me, I'm a metal person," she gestured at the needles, all aligned to the element metal. "I dwell on things. What if I'm a terrible mother?"

"You won't be," Miley said patiently, soothing her friend as best she could.

"But I've never been overly stable since the car crash. What if I have a mental moment and start hitting them or something? No one ever knows which way I'll swing, not even me or Mel!"

"Okay, first off: shut up."

River bit her lip.

"Secondly," she took her free hand and patted it comfortingly. "I've seen you so pissed off you're ready to punch the wall, and yet you're still able to look after a child that needs attention. Remember that little girl at the train station in Portsmouth? The one that lost her parents?"

River nodded meekly.

"And how your day had been so crap and all, and yet you calmed her down and cheered her up and got her back to her parents without venting your frustration on her?"

"You just like watching me squirm," River accused.

"Yes, there's that too."

Before she could say anything, the front door burst open and Mikey bounced in. "Lucy I'm _home_!"

Kevin traipsed in after him and fell in a heap into the nearest armchair.

"I hate witness statements…" he groaned.

"Mikey being a pain?" Miley glowered at her younger brother, who was singing _Morning Has Broken_ on his way to the kitchen.

"Make it stop…he's being singing that song since we left the police station."

"Mikey!" River shouted to make herself heard, surprising them both.

"Huh?" he poked his head around the door.

"Shut up!"

"Kay," he wondered off, whistling a Disney tune as he went.

"Can't bloody win with that boy," Miley got up to deal with him herself.

After one or three more than slightly stern words, Mikey flopped onto the floor in the living room and watched TV with them. When the needles came out and Miley concluded there was nothing more she could do, River got up and sat on the arm of Kevin's chair.

"So!" she patted his visible knee, the only part of him except for his bowed head that she could reach. "How'd it go?"

"I feel slightly psychotic…"

"Does everything have a red aura of light around it?"

He paused to consider, slowly unfurling himself from the ball he'd wrapped himself up in. "Not yet."

"Okay. When it does, just give us a shout so we can go hide."

"Eww!" Mikey complained, pointing at the screen.

Miley glanced up to see a horrible abomination of a fish, with a jaw twice the size of its body and a terrible mouthful of teeth, all jagged and sharp, at every possible angle. Anglerfish gave her the creeps, and she never enjoyed looking at pictures of them, or the specimen at the museum up in London. That was the first time that they found out that…

_Crap!_

All this went through her mind as fast as thought, but it had taken River a moment longer to react to Mikey's grievance.

She looked up, fixed her eyes on the TV, screamed, and fell off the chair in a flurry of frantic arms.

"Shit!" she scrambled behind the armchair in an attempt to put distance between her and the monstrosity on screen.

Kevin sat up at once, and leaned over the edge of the chair to stare at her in amazement. "What the hell?"

"I," she said, rocking back and forth as Miley rushed to her side. "Have an irrational fear of anglerfish. As well as arachnids, and leopard seals."

"It's only on TV." Miley hugged her. "It can't hurt you,"

"But all those _teeth_!" River whined.

"Oh, you're hopeless!" Miley felt herself giggling inappropriately. "Can't take you anywhere, can we?"

"Fear of _angler_fish?" Kevin repeated flatly.

"Very much so," River started giggling as well, which stopped Miley in her tracks.

Oh, that was _never_ a good sign with River…she was working up to hysterics. And Miley had just reset her chi channels!

"Sorry," Mikey mumbled. "I didn't mean to…"

"S'okay, honey. Really, I'm just freaking out over everything at the moment, and," she buried her face in her knees. "That had a red flashy light on it." There was a long pause, in which Kevin coughed loudly. "I hate red flashy lights…"

"Post traumatic…something or other. Not stress disorder. It's something to do with the accident," Miley explained. "That, and River has a few animal friends in the world that she doesn't like."

"Leopard seals are pure evil incarnate," she mumbled.

"Why?" Kevin challenged, and Miley had to bite back a retort. It wasn't her place to discipline. "They have to eat too, don't they? Wolves are pretty vicious when they hunt, and yet you hold them in high esteem."

"Whoa," Mikey breathed, crawling over to them. "Kevin use _big_ words. My brain just exploded."

"Ssh!" Miley snapped.

"The difference is," River held out a hand but didn't look up from her view of the denim jeans she wore. "Wolves and orcas and that, are sociable creatures with their own kind. Leopard seals are not, and they have brutal hunting habits. And…" she shuddered. "It's the shape of the head. I can't put my finger on it. It's just so…blunt, the nose, and…" she had to push Miley out of the way as a shiver worked itself up her spine, making her arms and legs momentarily spasm. It was more to do with the changing levels of salt in her blood than the aftermath of the fright.

"River has issues," Miley supplied for her.

"That's my definition of a sea monster," River looked up so she could see Kevin's face. "They just look malign. I can't describe it."

Someone banged on the door, just as Tom came down the stairs. A few moments later Taylor strolled in, looking very pleased with himself.

"Help!" Miley chirruped.

He shoved them all out of the way so he could sit beside River and put an arm around her shoulders. She burrowed into his embrace like a mole into earth.

"Now tell me. What's the matter?"

"Frickin' _huge_ anglerfish!" she squeaked, pointing in the general direction of the TV. "Panic attack." She suddenly lowered her arms and legs so that she merely leant against Taylor's side. "I think I'm going hysterical. And yet I'm calm enough to admit that. Oh dear, something's not quite right…"

"Taylor, she's all yours." And with that Miley scrambled out of the way. "Bloody hell," she said to Mel, who was casting on and looking at the colour chart she had chosen. "The baby sitter needs sitting herself. Thank god Taylor's here, _I'd _be the one having hysterics if River went ballistic."

"Fate had a way of ironing out the details like that," Mel said simply.

Damn her for never being smug, it somehow made everything smart more…

Kevin said something, though Miley didn't really listen until she heard him laughing. Looking up, she saw him rolling away from where River sat, avoiding a badly aimed punch.

"Ha ha!"

"Shut up. I'm not the one with a fear of a particular colour," she added slyly.

Now _that_ was why River was more fun than Mel; she had other moods and emotions than calm and austere.

Which brought her round to the question of…say _wha_?

"A _colour_?" Mikey repeated in disbelief.

"Shut up!" Kevin hissed at her, glowering like thunder.

"I was merely remarking on the fact that when I went through your records a while back for the psycho-analytical test that-"

"Shut up shut up!"

"Okay! Shutting," she made a show of locking her lips and throwing the key away. Then she signalled with her hands, and looked expectantly at Taylor.

"She says 'happy now?'"

"No," Kevin said sullenly, folding his arms and turning his glare on the TV.

When the programme on deep-sea creatures ended, River scuttled back to the sofa, dragging Taylor with her. Mikey went to go get drinks, and Steph came down to punch Kevin on the arm. "I _wondered_ what all the screaming was about. And here you are!"

While they sorted out their differences through the medium of hitting, Miley turned to River and said quietly.

"Colour?"

"Yeah," she grinned, and leant forward so they could speak quieter still.

"Tell me!"

"Well, Kevin has a condition what is quite uncommon to Osmosian. There's a particular colour found in the star that their home planet circles. And sometimes it emits a particular wave length of light that – hey!"

A pillow hit them both in the face.

"Shut up!" Kevin whined at her.

River pulled a pouty face at him. "As one scientist to another,"

He threw another cushion at her. "I said shut up!"

"And it's called-!" River tried to speak through her laughter, standing up and manoeuvring herself out of the way.

However, Kevin grabbed her wrist before she could escape. "I _said_,"

"I'm not stupid or mentally deficient!" she laughed even harder, making Miley and Taylor join in; even Mel's lips quirked into a smile. "Or afraid of a colour," she added with a smirk.

"That's it," Kevin lunged at her, and for one wild moment Miley thought he was actually going to hurt her. But instead, he grabbed her by the waist and flung her over his shoulder, grabbing one wrist and one ankle to try and keep her under control.

"Hey! Put me down!" she protested weakly as she kept on giggling. "You're not allowed to manhandle your mentor,"

"Since when were you my mentor?"

"Since you deigned to acknowledge my authority,"

"Pah! Authority,"

Miley had a warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach as she watched them. Only a very few select people could get away with this; and it was so nice to see everyone being happy again after so many disasters.

Steph danced around them both, clapping her hands and chanting some Avis drivel that none of them could understand, although it did seem to have a taunting edge to it.

"I'll tell Magister Tennyson you invaded my personal bubble," River threatened, still not managing to sound very menacing.

"Oh yeah? What does the _medical staff_ have to say?" he turned to Miley to get her opinion, but River went still for a moment before screaming again.

"Scorpion!" and then she was kicking and flailing in her attempt to flee.

Kevin all but dropped her on the floor where she sprang to her feet and ran in a blind panic into the hallway.

Taylor raced after her without a backwards glance, and Kevin was stood looking very dazed.

"What?"

Miley checked the screen. Sure enough, it was a programme on _Arthropods_, with info on anything with more than six legs.

"Oh, it's just a phobia." Miley shrugged. "I don't have to deal with her, Taylor's better at it than I am."

"Coward," Mel said.

Miley gave her a withering look, but had to laugh at the astonishment on Kevin's face. Doubtless he had ever heard her insult anyone before…

"Hey," Mikey came into the room with a box of biscuits and a mug of tea. "River's screaming about deserts and scorpions, and," he checked his watch. "Shouldn't you be at the pitch to pick up your sister from hockey practise in ten minutes?" he said to Kevin.

He likewise checked his watch. "Shit!" and ran for the front door.

"Hey! I wasn't done beating you up!" Steph shouted after him.

The front door slammed in her general direction.

"Bitch," she muttered, stalking towards the kitchen.

"Oh bloody hell…" Miley rapped her knuckles against her temple.

"That is one ugly son of a," Mikey nodded at a hairy looking tarantula with yellow streaks and huge bulbous eyes.

"Face for radio," Mel added.

"Okay, _who_ are you and what have you done with Melanie?"

She smiled reassuringly, which did little to reassure her.

"I am more than slightly scared now…"

XOXOX

Kevin was acting weird.

That in itself was not something new, but it was the weirder than normal type of weird.

He was just so…_contemplative_ today. Like everything had to have a deeper meaning that took half the morning to puzzle out.

Gwen had agreed to come along with him on this little 'family outing'. Really, it was just Cari thinking they should do more as a family, and Kevin wanting some form of moral support. So when he had called her house phone and begged her to come with him, she had accepted the offer.

They were at the local aquarium, searching a tank for flounders for the fact sheet Crystal was filling in with Cain. Cari wondered around the different tanks and read all the information plaques she could find. Gwen was watching Kevin's expression with growing suspicion.

Oh, he was _so_ up to something…

She waited until they were alone before interrogating him, which happened when Crystal demanded that they back track and see the jelly fish, and Cari went on ahead to look at the rock pools.

Gwen cleared her throat, staring at the great white shark that floated lazily above them in the tank; all cold and calculating and making a shiver run up and down her spine.

When that failed to get his attention, she stretched her arms and yawned widely before wrapping them around his waist and snuggling into his side. He put a vague arm around her shoulders but didn't say anything.

"Kevin!" she poked him hard in the ribs, bruising her fingers in the process.

"Hmm?" he looked down at her, the far away look in his eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"Besides the fact that you've been ignoring me all morning," she sniffed.

It really shouldn't bother her; she was above such pettiness. But she wanted to know what was so much more interesting than talking to her every once in a while.

"Oh," he looked surprised. "I was just thinking," he looked up again as the shark cast a shadow over the spot where they stood. "And wondering..."

"About?" she pressed.

"Do they have anglerfish here?" he asked innocently.

"What?" Gwen started to laugh, and couldn't stop herself from laughing harder at his hurt expression. "Anglerfish live hundreds of miles below the surface! You would need to replicate the water pressure, and you need really high tech equipment for that…and then you'd have to get them up to the surface in the first place! The change in pressure kills them after so many metres,"

Offended, Kevin stormed off to the other end of the room to look at a tank full of dogfish, arms folded sulkily over his chest. When she was sure that she wouldn't laugh again, Gwen sidled over to him and hugged him around the middle.

"I didn't mean to upset you. You just surprised me is all."

Kevin didn't say anything, or relax his stance.

"Why do you want to know about angler fish?"

"Just curious," he mused.

_Liar_. "Okay then." She burrowed her way into his arms, and was glad when he hugged her back.

"Something River said last night."

"Oh?" Gwen poked him when he didn't elaborate.

"Come on," he dragged her from the shark filled room and into the next one with stingrays. "She freaked out cause Mel and Miley were watching a programme about the deep sea, and there was an anglerfish on the screen. Apparently she has a phobia against them,"

Gwen shivered at the thought of those cruel looking teeth and that deceptive lure above milky eyes. "They look horrible…"

Kevin spun round so he was in front of her and spread his arms. "Better or worse than me?"

Gwen stared at him in disbelief. "You kidding me?"

He looked at her expectantly.

"You're unbelievable," she pushed past him and went to go sulk beside the ray's pool.

"Well?" Kevin loomed over her shoulder. He wasn't going to give up until she answered him.

"You don't _look_ like a fish!" she snapped at him. "I've always thought you're better looking than a fish anyway. Why does it matter?"

"I didn't mean _now_," he pressed, leaning over her to dip his hand in the water.

Gwen slapped his hand back out of the tank and pointed at the sign that read 'PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE FISH – THANK YOU'. "Can't you read?"

She didn't mean to snap at him, just…she wasn't comfortable thinking about that time five years ago when they had been quite literally trying to kill each other.

"Just asking," he shrugged, looking around the room in mild disinterest.

"Argh," Gwen would have leant against the wall if she hadn't wedged herself out in the open. "I don't like thinking about that…you know…" she didn't know how to phrase it properly.

"Just wondering," he shrugged.

Gwen accepted his proffered shoulder and leaned against him. "Let's talk about something else…" she pleaded.

"Okay! Urm…"he cast around for something to say.

In the mean time, Gwen watched the rays dancing through the water, vertically bobbing at the surface in the oddest tango she had ever seen.

"River's afraid of leopard seals," he blurted out.

"Really?" That was rather unusual…

"Yeah, she said it's something like the head and the nose shape that freaks her out," he gestured with his own face, grinning.

"I think they have a couple of leopard seals here," Gwen mused aloud.

Kevin laughed. "Lets never bring her here then,"

"Why? I thought you liked teasing everyone," she smiled.

He winced at a memory. "He's got pretty powerful lungs when she's scared enough."

Gwen giggled. "You're going soft,"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "And _you_ are getting evil."

"I think…that's grammatically incorrect."

Kevin made a show of stalking off to the information board. "Do I _look_ like I care about literature?"

Gwen followed him still laughing. "You're so easy to wind up." She told him.

"Go away," he sulked.

"Well," she said flippantly, tossing her hair over her shoulder and spinning on her back foot. "I was going to kiss you and make it better, but you obviously don't want-"

"Come here," he growled, catching her by the waist.

Mind wondering as he kissed her in that darkened corner of the ray exhibit, Gwen tried to remember the last time he'd kissed her like this in public. The back row of an almost completely vacant cinema didn't really count as public…neither did the empty room here.

Kevin kept stopping so he could look her in the eye every so often, which was quite pleasant. Odd, how in such poor lighting she could see the warm streaks of brown in his eyes; that warmth radiated from his lips, which kept twitching into a smile every so often.

Gwen pulled away when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Before she could reach it, Kevin had plucked it from her jeans and inspected the Caller ID.

"Ben." He said in a dull tone, which didn't match the spark dancing in his eyes. "Better see what he wants."

Gwen blindly followed his advice, placing the handset to her ear and pressing the green button. "Hey Ben,"

"_Hey!_" he sounded enthusiastic, which didn't bode well. "_Where are you? Training got cancelled today so Julie and I were thinking about hitting the movies. Wanna come with?_"

Gwen was about to respond and say that she and Kevin were at the aquarium when he pushed her against the wall, and latched his lips onto her throat. It was suddenly very hard to concentrate on what Ben was saying.

"Huh?" she suppressed a gasp.

"_Gwen? You there? I said do you want to go to the movies?_"

"S-sorry. I can't. I'm…busy."

"_Doing what, homework?_" he mocked.

"Out." She said, trying to push Kevin away from her. He'd wanted her to answer the stupid call – personally, she would have rather thrown it into the tank than answer it.

"_Out where? What's with you today?_"

"I'm with Kevin and his family. At the…aquarium," she bit back a squeak when she felt him nipping at her flesh. "One sec," she shoved the cell into her pocket and tried to push him away. "Cut it out!" she hissed.

"Why?" he asked, nuzzling her cheek.

"Because you wanted me to talk to him," she snarled, trying to fight her way out of his embrace. "And you're making me sound like an idiot! And I'd rather spend my time kissing you than talking to Ben. And!" she grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled him round to look her in the eye. "_You_ are the most infuriating person I have ever met."

"And don't you just love it?" he grinned, kissing her lips.

"You know, I didn't hang up?" she said breathlessly between kisses.

Kevin dived into her pocket again and held the phone to his mouth. "I'm sorry, but you have run out of credit. Please try again later," he effected a airplane captain's smooth voice and vaguely English accent as he spoke, before pressing disconnect and handing it to her.

Gwen barely registered this, since she was hell bent on having her own way. He complied readily when she pulled him in for another kiss, twisting her fingers into his hair so he couldn't escape.

The phone rang again, and she didn't even look to see who it was; Gwen neatly pulled the back of the cell phone off, removed the battery, and dropped them all onto the floor before returning her full attention to Kevin.

Neither of them really knew how much time passed; he kept moving from her lips, across her cheek and down to her throat before moving back again to complete the circuit.

"Kevin!" Crystal's giggling voice echoed off the walls as she advanced to the room they were in.

Kevin drew back with a sigh, and rested his forehead against hers. "Why?" he moaned.

"She's your sister," she reminded him, taking his hand and lacing her finger's through his.

They gathered up the bits of her phone and Kevin slotted them back together as Crystal ran into the room.

"Hey!" she squealed, running up to them. "Guess what? There's a jellyfish back there that swims," she paused for dramatic effect, somewhat ruined by the bubbling giggle that crept up her throat. "Upside down!"

Gwen fussed over her discovery, and sent her off after Cari when she appeared, saying that there was a starfish the size of her brother's head in one of the rock pools.

"No way!" Crystal ran through the doorway, elated.

Cain and Cari exchanged amused looks before following her.

"Kevin? Gwen, are you two coming?"

"Just a sec, Gwen lost her cell," Kevin called.

"Did not," she sulked when Cari was gone.

Kevin smirked, and moved so quickly she wasn't prepared for it. He pinned her to the wall again, and gently brushed his lips against her neck.

"Stop it," she whined.

"I don't want to. I like it."

"I do too, but not in public like this!" what if someone who knew her parents saw them and ratted them out? The only reason her father had let her go was because there would be adult supervision.

"There's a lot of hiding places around here," Kevin reminded her, reading her thoughts.

"Later," she said firmly, trying to wriggle out of his arms.

"Promise?" he challenged, letting her go.

Gwen smiled, and raised her hand to make the Plumber's equivalent of scout's honour. "Promise."

Kevin kissed her one last time, briefly nipping her bottom lip before grabbing her hands and reeling her towards the rock pools. "Come on, I want to see this starfish that's as big as my head!"

He was just like a little kid; it was so funny to watch! There was a collection of squid towards the end, which Crystal watched with interest. She oohed and ahhed at them, before running off to check out the gift shop.

Kevin was very quiet up until the very last possible moment, when they were about to leave and there were loads of people filing into the room behind them. He spun round, fixing a look of mock horror on one squid in particular, and shrieked, "ARGH IT'S VILGAX'S MOM!"

XOXOX

Cari was startled when Gwen staggered out of last exhibit, shaking with laughter, followed by Kevin, who was clinging to her hand and trying to walk straight.

"What the hell!" she giggled, nearly walking into a case full of delicate glass models.

"It was funny, admit it!"

"It wasn't funny!" she shoved him out of the way, and he tackled her into an aisle of stuffed toys. "It was stupid!"

"But it made you laugh!" he insisted, tickling her sides and making her twist in his arms.

"Only because you're so stupid," she couldn't stop laughing.

Cari turned away from them, smiling to herself, and perusing the CDs the shop had to offer.

"Mom?" Crystal tugged at her sleeve.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I left my coat by the shark tank," she said, wide-eyed and innocent.

"Oh dear. We'd better go back for it," she looked up. Cain was looking at factual books on sailing, and Gwen and Kevin were just getting over their laughing fit. "Kevin?"

"Yeah, mom?"

"Since you're the world's nicest brother and you clearly forgot to do you homework, you can go get Crystal's coat for her."

"Huh?" he looked surprised. "Homework?"

"That science report on sharks that your teacher has been asking me for, for the last week?" she reminded him.

"Oh!" he slapped his forehead. "_That_ homework." He looked down at Gwen sheepishly. "I was so wrapped up about anglerfish and leopard seals I forgot." Something about the flush to both their faces made Cari think there was something else to it.

"Do you have pen and paper?"

"Uhh…"

Cari sighed, and grabbed a notepad and pen from her purse. "_Try_ to be more organised, Kevin."

"Okay, I'll be right back." he turned and left the shop, explaining loudly to the attendant who tried to stop him that he was on a mission of education…and his sister's coat.

"You know," Gwen patted Crystal on the head. "I think I'd better go with him. His spelling's atrocious,"

"Good idea," Cari smiled at her. She could barely read the boy's handwriting half the time…

It shouldn't have been a surprised when they took a long time to come back; heads down and close together as they walked over with Crystal's coat and the notepad in hand.

Crystal took her coat gratefully, and smiled up at them to say thank you, but she stared at Gwen in concern.

"Gwen? Did you hurt yourself? You've got a bruise on your neck,"

"I do?" Gwen slapped a hand over the offending flesh and went deep red.

Cari rolled her eyes. She shouldn't have let those two go back alone…then again, it was rather amusing to watch Kevin squirm like that.

"Yeah. And your face has gone red. Are you sick?"

Gwen looked to Kevin desperately, who was looking at his shoelace in quiet and flushed contemplation.

"My mom says when you get sick you get all hot and your face goes red. Do you have a fever?"

"I don't…I don't think so,"

"Or a bug?" Crystal, bless her, was trying to be nice and helpful, but was really making it all the more embarrassing.

"Crystal! Come look at this," Cain waved a picture book at her, and she obediently trotted over to him.

Gwen hung her face in her hands in despair. "Oh God…"

Kevin put an arm around her shoulders. "She's eight, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Daddy? I think Gwen needs to see a doctor," Crystal began.

Gwen hid her face in his chest. "Ugh…"

"Heheh," Kevin didn't look too convinced either.

Cari cleared her throat, making them both jump. "When you're both quite finished." She held out her hand. "Notepad,"

Kevin ripped a few pages out and handed it back to her before retreating to a shelf with candy arranged on it, dragging Gwen with him.

Cari inspected the two sheets he had failed to remove, and saw he had doodled all over it. It seemed as though that, in his version of reality, when a shark came across mutant squid and had a threesome with an anglerfish, it gave rise to Vilgax. She would have to drill him later on proper note taking skills.

Eventually, they were ready to leave, after Kevin and Gwen argued for five minutes over who was going to pay for the pic'n'mix. They went outside to the parking lot and got into Kevin's car; Crystal babbled away about how exciting the day had been, sandwiched between her parents, while Gwen and Kevin sat in the front seats, discussing the pros and cons of turning the car into a submersible.

"It's be so cool, we could go on recon underwater!" Kevin was almost as excited as Crystal.

"What's wrong with my manna bubble?" Gwen demanded, handing out sweets.

"Nothing. But it'd cool to say my car's a submersible." He insisted.

"Oh," Gwen sighed dramatically. "If only you loved me as much as your car,"

"Yeah, if only," he sniggered. "Ouch!" she slapped him.

"You're such a baby. That didn't _hurt_,"

"Yeah it did! …It hurt my feelings." He snivelled.

"…Baby." Gwen muttered.

When they arrived home, Cari offered for Gwen to stay for supper, and she agreed with a smile. Crystal demanded that Gwen come look at her collection of stuffed sea animals, so when she was separated from Kevin, Cari descended upon him.

"Please make sure the next time you go to take 'notes'," she said, waving the offending pages in his face. "That you use words instead of diagrams, and that you use your time constructively."

Kevin stared at her blankly. "Oops."

"Oops," Cari agreed, handing them over. "And I'm fairly certain that is not the way his species reproduce.

"Mom!" he groaned. "It was a joke!"

"And was it that hilarious?" she countered sternly, arms folded.

Kevin cast around for a moment before saying simply, "Gwen found it funny."

Cari sighed, and left him to it.

Whatever was she going to do about that boy?

XOXOX

**…And I'll sign off now cause its late and I'm tired xD random fishness inspired by a friend of mine who genuinely has a fear of anglerfish. It's the weirdest thing… xD leopard seal's are the devil of the sea, and I don't like them ;) and that, ladies and gentleman, is a face born for the radio :D**

**So long, and thanks for all the fish! XD (Hitch hiker's rulezzz!)**

**xxx**


	30. Manna Flow

**AN: Happy Year of the Rabbit! :D if I am not mistaken, it was the Chinese new year on Thursday :) I would quote the phrase I was taught by the boarders at school, but I can't for the life of me spell it and I won't even try xD so we celebrated in style through the medium of Chinese take away at school…which I can't work out if it was entirely appropriate… but we're doing the lion dance and more fun things next week, which is the highlight of the term :D I think I might try and tie that in somewhere in a chapter here or elsewhere actually…I dunno, we'll wait and see xD**

**Again, title is epic fail xD I might just start calling them 'Chapter XYZ' at this rate, I've lost that creative flare for naming ;P**

_**Manna Flow**_

"Where's Mikey?" Gwen asked, dumping her bag in the corner and falling into a chair beside River at the table.

"With Sally," she said vaguely, focusing on the screen of her laptop with Taylor. "Kevin arranged for them to meet at Mr Smoothies, and her mother plays piano so she invited him to her house. I think its going well since he hasn't texted for help yet."

Gwen smiled; she was glad Sally was feeling better, and glad that Mikey was making progress. River had been dropping in to see her on a regular basis, and she seemed to be coping really well.

"So, where are the others today?"

Taylor raised a hand and placed it to his lips. "Ssh, Gwen. Just one sec."

Frowning, she followed their gaze, and saw media player was open, and playing back a loop of a grainy moving blob that…

"Oh my god!" she gushed, realising what it was.

"I know," Taylor breathed, eyes glued to the screen.

"It's alive," River said bluntly; she looked quite shocked by the whole thing. "I remember going through this when my godson was a bump."

"I know," Taylor said again. "You ranted on about how he winked at you at six months." He had a small and goofy looking smile quirking the edges of his lips.

"Did you get this from the hospital?" Gwen asked, nodding at the pictures on the table.

"Yeah," River tore herself away and showed her the disc case that came with it. "They did it for free,"

"Aww!" Gwen suddenly felt excited. She had no reason to believe that the couple would let her be involved after the birth, but she felt so strongly attached to River that part of her assumed she would be allowed to take part, but still… "It's so sweet!"

"It's amazing," Taylor breathed.

"It's bloody terrifying," River whimpered, looking scared for the first time; she raised a hand and placed it over her mouth.

Taylor finally turned from the laptop and pulled her into a soothing hug. "Don't worry about a thing! You'll be in a hospital, with all the mod-cons, and even the machine that goes ping!" River laughed at the Monty Python reference. "And I'll be hanging onto your hand like my life depends on it,"

Gwen laughed. "It probably will! My mom's brother filmed her when my brother was born, and she was screaming at my dad about how she never wanted him near her again, and when he tried to leave she was screaming '_where do you think you're going?_'"

"May I just apologise in advance for any bithciness on my part?" River said, still looking shaken.

"Look, I admit, I'm partly to blame, and-"

"Err, s'cuse me," River playfully clamped her hands over Gwen's ears, making her laugh. "But I'm fairly certain it was a mutual moment of passion that got us into this mess. I'm not blaming you; if anything, it's my fault for not checking I had the right medicine."

"Okay, it's your fault and my fault. My point is that I'll be there holding her hand all the way."

River grimaced and said, "You may not want to do that…I've broken stronger bone's than yours before,"

"How?" Gwen asked.

"I had appendicitis, and we didn't realise anything was wrong until it burst. I was clinging on to Steph's arm at the time in agony, and I managed to grind her finger bones together to the point where they needed to be set for a week to help them heal."

Gwen gulped; Avis physiology allowed them to heal many times faster than the average human. Steph must have been in quite a bit of pain…

"Then I'll give up carving and find something else to do with my life." Taylor said simply.

"Um…" Gwen bit her lip, not sure what to say.

"I know what you're thinking," River was looking at the screen again. "Just say it."

"You won't leave us permanently, will you?"

"No!" River gave her a bear hug, making her laugh again. "You can't be rid of me that easily! I'll just be further up the continent, that's all."

Taylor put a hand on her shoulder as well, grinning. "Yeah! You can come visit us any time you like! We'll need help babysitting anyway, what with River on her talks and stuff, and me winning bread in the harbour,"

"I hope to god for your own sake you mean selling carvings and not your body," River warned him, making Gwen laugh even harder.

"Well, now you mention it…" he said with an evil grin. "Ow!" River smacked him with the pictures from the ultrasound. "Okay, okay! I was kidding! Don't hit me!"

"You're _mine_," River said firmly, surprising Gwen with her intensity. "No one else's."

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way, since I'm the only guy you've ever slept with and all,"

River's face went bright red, and her eyes flashed a very pale blue. Gwen bit her lip, not sure what reaction would be appropriate.

"But you know you're not my first, and there are many girls out there who _have_ seen me butt naked,"

River leant against the edge of the table and buried her face in her hands. "Please stop talking…"

"What? It's a fact of life! Everything gets its urges, and in a couple of years Gwen will be legal, and-"

It was Gwen's turn to blush.

"-Besides, where do you think _you_ came from?"

"For all _I_ know," she rounded on him, her face the same colour as Gwen's hair, "I came from a test tube in an evil scientist's lab! And you shouldn't have _anything_ to do with the kids under my care here since you are not an officially recognised Plumber Official, and that sort of conversation is _highly_ inappropriate! Plus you just killed what's left of my dignity around here!"

Taylor looked highly affronted. "You were the one implying I was a man whore just now!"

"But I was joking! I wasn't being semi-sincere or explicit about anything!"

"It's a fact of life! Why should we be so modest about it?"

"Why don't you just throw me over the table and take me now, if that's your idea of modesty!" she shrieked at him.

Gwen was mortified on many levels, but she had enough sense to see that this was just one of the many mood swings River was going through, which was exasperating the problem.

"Okay, _you're_ crossing the line now," Taylor began, but River cut him off and started telling him how everything was his fault, ranting for a full five minutes. When she paused to draw breath, he said innocently, "Finished?"

"You're unbelievable!" she snarled. "You work me up into a tiz, and then expect me to calm done with you going all 'oh, are you finished spacking yet? I have to go win more bread for this baby coz you is obviously doing sod all to help!'" She slammed her fist down on the table and stormed away to the tiny kitchen room to make a drink.

Taylor sighed, and rubbed his temples before turning to Gwen. "If you and Kevin ever get married, _please_ remember what transpired here today and my own suffering, so that he may live to see the light of another day should this happen to you."

"I'll keep that in mind," she blushed at the thought of getting that close and intimate with…well, it wasn't something in the immediate future that she needed to worry about just yet.

But then again, as she watched Taylor get up and scurry over to River in an attempt to make peace, these two were in a longer, stronger relationship that was being cemented by the little life that grew inside River.

"Look, I'm sorry that I'm being a prick, but you are being pretty over emotional about it. And I understand that I can't possibly _begin_ to appreciate how you're feeling, but I want you to know I'm not walking out over this."

"I should bloody well hope not," River snarled, slamming the kettle down.

"Hey, while you're pissed off and everything, I have a proposal,"

"Okay," she rounded on him, and for one wild moment Gwen was sure she was going to hit him. Instead, River jabbed him hard in the shoulder with ire in her eyes and said, "I thought I made this clear, I am _not_ marrying you until we have enough money. It's either get hitched or have a baby, not both, and I am _not_ having an abortion!"

"No, it's about the house," Taylor said firmly.

River crossed her arms and glowered at her partner; she looked like a sulky little five year old.

"I was thinking, with regards to Junior's room. How about we have a theme instead of a particular colour?"

River looked very wary of agreeing to anything just yet. "And what would you suggest?"

"Well," he inspected the nails on his left hand. "I was thinking Disney, maybe? Something that incorporates yellow _and_ beige?"

"Like…" she made a rotating motion with her wrist, urging him to continue.

"I don't know. I just wanted to run that by you. I can't pick! I was tempted to say Pocahontas, but that's _way_ too cheesy and girly in case it's a boy."

"Okay, I'll think about it, but I'm _not_ having Mickey Mouse! That's way too over down,"

The storm had passed, and Gwen sighed in relief for them. She kept thinking that maybe the strain would get too much and they'd have a massive fallout, but they only deviated ever so slightly from the rails of their life, never derailing or even coming close to that.

"And," River added, staining the peaceful atmosphere that was slowly descending. "I see what you're trying to pull here. Thought that gambit would save you?" she smirked at his nervous smile.

"I was saving that for later, but I wanted to run it by you anyway. Now seemed right."

River leant over to peck him on the lips before turning back to the singing kettle. "You're off the hook. But I get to chose the theme."

"Can I make suggestions?"

"Yes. But I get the final verdict."

"Can't ask for fairer than that," Taylor sat back down at the table, and glued his eyes to the screen. "It's my baby," he said in a monotone.

Gwen laughed. "It's kinda sweet how shocked you are about it,"

"It's not that," he shook his head, eyes not moving. "We went to the hospital yesterday cause River was feeling sick. They did the scan for us, and…God, I can't describe it! You see this sort of thing on TV and stuff all the time, but when you're actually watching it in real time, knowing that you're watching what's going on in there…and knowing it's part of _you_…" he struggled to find words, and failed. "When it happens to you, you'll understand. There just aren't words."

"Actually," River looked placid and thoughtful as opposed to feisty and pissed off now. She set two mugs down in front of the laptop. "Oh, would you like some? It's ginger tea,"

"Yes please,"

River ran to get it, and came back and set it down before Gwen before she continued.

"Actually, I was wondering, and Mel agrees. I think you could actually see the baby for yourself."

"As in…it's manna?" Gwen asked dubiously. From her flawed understanding of regeneration, or however the magic book described it; a baby's manna only became its own fully and completely when the umbilical cord or the placenta (which ever went first) was detached from the mother's womb. The baby in the looped video would be saturated with River's energy signature since it couldn't sustain itself yet, and relied solely on her blood and energy to keep it alive.

"Yes," River nodded. "See, the interesting argument the Catholic Church puts forward is that life starts at conception. And on a scientific and biological level that we can measure, that's true. But with near death experiences when you see the light you're rushing towards is the mother's vagina," Taylor pulled a face and River' flicked his ear, continuing her speech flawlessly, "and for every person who comes back with unfinished business in that life, a child is still born. At least, that's the theory. Because some people have control over where their spirit goes, and they can go back to their previous body if it is capable of acting as a vessel. It's a very intriguing argument, and Miley and I were at loggerheads over the chi versus manna case. She said that chi is within the body, and manna is the energy of the universe. I, on the other hand, still think its one and the same, just different names from different cultures."

"And the point of this all?" Taylor chided.

River put a hand in his face and pushed him away so she could talk to Gwen uninterrupted. "And Mel seemed to think you could probably focus on the baby long enough to know whether it's sentient yet. I don't think so cause the forebrain shouldn't have fully formed yet. We just thought it might be an interesting exercise."

"Okay," Gwen was intrigued and wanted to learn more. "I can try."

"Great! This will be interesting,"

"Don't do anything stupid…" Taylor sighed. "Though that's never stopped you before…"

"How do you do this?" Gwen asked, taking River's hands in hers, feeling the calluses from playing guitar and many an outdoor activity. "I mean focus your energy,"

"I slow my heart and breath rate right down, and then I imagine myself as a ball of light." River said slowly. She frowned suddenly, but gave Gwen's hands a squeeze. "Don't worry, it's nothing," she added.

"Okay," Gwen had to find her wavelength and latch onto it to make this work; River had little training in this area, and she could only go on instincts, which meant Gwen had to come down to her level before they could connect on that mentally intimate plane.

River closed her eyes, and Gwen felt the slight fluctuation as the air around her stopped moving before it started to hum with energy. Her breathing rate went right down, and as Gwen reached for her, she was aware of every cell in her body slowing itself down so that the minimum was needed to be done to keep her alive.

How it happened, she had no idea, but Gwen managed to fall into her being completely by accident while searching for a way in. It was as if for a moment she _was_ River, with all her memories and fears and desires, and she could feel every inch of her body as though it were hers.

And that was _very_ disconcerting, since Gwen was used to her own small and slight figure; River's blood had to go further to reach her long legs and arms, and her heart beat sporadically until she realised with a jolt that it had one and a half extra chambers to it that beat to a slightly different rhythm. Even the hair felt different; light and bouncy with its curl, and the soft force the bandana exerted against her scalp. The teeth sat differently in her mouth; Gwen had a slight over bite, that had never necessitated braces, and River's teeth were naturally straight so the shape and feel of the mouth was all wrong in Gwen's mind.

Speaking of which, River's was at once open and honest, and at the same time subtle and complex, almost elusive. Many things struck Gwen in that moment that had never occurred to her before about this woman she had become so attached to.

A hole burned inside her, yearning for the blue summer skies of Sooke, the pebble beaches of the Pacific North West, the smell of cooking salmon and the taste of king prawns fresh from the boat, and the rich woodsy smell that was linked to an image of Taylor's laughing face, and all the powerful emotions that were woven in-between. And there was a fierce desire to see her family again; her parents, both dark of hair and eye, and her five brothers who took after them, and knowing how she stood out like a sore thumb in their midst, but loving them and the attention they gave her, and the feeling of companionship and love that went with it. And even more powerful than that, a yearning for the child she could feel in her womb, for something that was not only part of her and her lover, but for the one being in the universe she knew for sure was her kin, her own flesh and blood.

And there was an underlying difference, that was not so obvious at first, but Gwen quickly caught onto the tendril of thought. River wasn't pure Homo sapien; there were other genes and chromosomes floating around in her makeup, a fair few that Gwen tried and failed to count, from other species. It suddenly all made sense why everything felt so different in this body, despite the fact it was physically different. In their shared memories, River knew she was descended from five different species; one part Transmorphor, one part Osmosian, one part…something, and two part Homo sapien.

The healing ability of the Transmorphor had helped, not to mend the damaged brain tissue, but to build new pathways in the brain to speed her to recovery after her accident. Her heart had formed wrongly while she was developing as an embryo, whether it was just a genetic freak, a mismatch in alleles she inherited, or her human DNA combating with the Osmosian, she didn't know, but she had an extra lymph system, and chambers in her heart that were never quite in unison with the rest of the muscle. Gwen was aware with her own sense, but also with River's experienced and trained eye, of all the channels that ran through this body; energy, tiny electrical impulses that had nothing to do with the muscles, joints, the nervous system, blood stream…any of those things. It was raw manna, and it was pulsing round this body in different pathways to those Gwen was familiar with.

At that point, River had managed to find her lost in her own being, and guide her back to the centre. The ripple of amusement clarified Gwen's surprise at finding the extra terrestrial blood in her. River conveyed a vague feeling of awkwardness, which translated to her laughing it off along the lines of 'I always knew I was weird. Then the doctors confirmed it scientifically.'

Once placed at the centre of the entity that was River, Gwen sort the thing she had come here to look for, and clung to River's consciousness as she wound her way down the spinal cord and followed the nerve endings into the abdomen, searching for that little nugget of extra life.

It was there, nestled in between the hipbones, and exerting a soft pressure against the environment around it. It wasn't fully formed yet; Gwen could feel that it was slowly growing in fits and starts that were linked to the rhythm of its mother's own body, and that something vague flitted around in what she assumed was the head, like a tiny flickering candle.

The moment was so profound, Gwen felt River's heart leap despite her physically comatose state, and begin to beat with irregularity. Something in the baby stirred in response as more blood flowed through the placenta. Gwen would have gasped if she had a mouth to gasp with in the world of the mind; there was a spark of something _almost_ like intelligence. It was certainly responding to it's mother's emotions, though Gwen was acutely aware not only from River's shared memories of biological psychology but from feeling everything swirling around in the blood that the baby had to be just responding to the hormones in the system it shared through the umbilical cord.

Gwen cast a question at River, and she found it bounce back. She tried twice more before realising the rebounding question was slightly different, asking her to consider why the hormones were wrapped up so explicably with the forebrain, and why every person was different. She was a cocktail of chemicals, all sending mixed signals around the body and keeping it in working order.

Looking closer, Gwen brushed against the baby's hand, and she felt a jolt as the primitive conscience blended with hers and River's.

She was utterly dependant on her mother, and took advantage of the buffet her home had to offer, with all the rich blood soaking her surroundings. She was barely aware of anything around her expect that which was vital, namely where the sustenance came from and how affected by her mother's mood it was. Something pressed against her barely formed mind, and Gwen realised with a shock the baby had distinguished between the two entities that were harassing it.

Gwen's eyes flew open in astonishment and she nearly fell from her chair. River was still gripping her hands, gasping in shock as well. She looked up, and found River's face was stained with tears as they stared into each other's eyes.

Raising a hand slowly, she brushed a few tears of her own from her cheeks, hardly able to comprehend what she had just felt.

"That was…" River took deep breaths of air.

"Woah…"

"You okay?" Taylor asked gently.

"It's a girl," they said in unison.

"You felt it too?" Gwen asked.

"I felt everything you did. And she recognised me!" her face split into a smile so happy and delighted it cause a joyful pang in Gwen's heart. "There's a soul attached to the body, did you feel that?"

"I…didn't. But I felt the energy flow," Gwen grinned like an idiot. Detecting manna signatures wasn't supposed to make you deliriously happy like this…

"Wait!" Taylor waved his hands in their faces, and River let Gwen go. "It's a girl? You're sure about that?"

"Yes!" River was crying for joy. "That was…God, I can't even begin to describe it!"

"Well," Gwen said with a smile as River hugged Taylor fiercely with a gleeful squeal. "I guess that answers your question about Mel's theory."

"So…" Taylor appraised them both before saying, "Pocahontas?"

"No." River said, eyes going unfocused.

Gwen had a vague impression on a honey pot and a bouncing tiger before she went on.

"Whinnie the Pooh."

River was creeping her out…Gwen had another sense she had never felt before, and she guessed it was an aftershock of River's manna in her own system, letting her see and feel that extraneous force, that of the soul that she wasn't quite accustomed to. Her talent lay in the power of the mind and manipulation of manna, not in sensing and adjusting to the balance of the soul.

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Taylor was psyched now. "And we can paint murals on the walls and stuff!"

River suddenly clutched her head and leant over, groaning. She waved them away and sat up slowly as they hovered nervously. "Sorry, I just felt…sad. Something hit me, but I don't know what."

"Well, it doesn't matter. Now we know the sex, we don't have to worry about getting the wrong things. But do me a favour and keep pink to the minimum,"

"No fear," River snorted. She got up and went to grab something from the bed of her truck.

Taylor got up and went to the bag of wood he had dumped in the corner of the room. "I can finally start working on toys. No cars or trains! All animals, with pretty bright paint and fluffy cushions."

"Shut up!" River said playfully. "I grew up with wooden trains, Breo, cars and Lego, and so shall my baby!"

The phone on the table started vibrating insistently, making Gwen jump.

"Aw, crap! Sorry, the caller ID isn't working, could you get that for me? It might be your grandfather calling about that lecture in Paris I need to go to…"

Gwen picked up the battered old phone and pressed the green button. "Hello?" she asked uncertainly, still feeling oddly detached from reality.

"_Hi, I'm looking for Dr Collins? This should be her new cell number._"

"Yeah, it is. I'm Gwen Tennyson. Who's speaking, please?"

"_Tell River its Chrissie. She'll know who I am._" The voice was pleasant enough, but there was an underlying hitch; the sort you hear in the voice of someone who's grieving.

"Just a moment," Gwen lowered the phone. "It's Chrissie?" she asked uncertainly.

"Oh, yes, hang on a sec!" River dropped what she was doing to grab the phone from her. "Thanks," she smiled, and plugged herself to the handset. "Chrissie! I haven't spoken to you in ages! How are you?" she stopped and immediately became concerned. "Something's wrong." She listened intently for a few moments before slowly sitting herself down. "Oh God. I'm so sorry," she put a hand over her mouth, staring at the wall opposite.

Taylor was by her side in an instant, all worry and distress.

"Yeah. Okay. No, I'll say. When is it? Okay. Yes, I'll let you know when I can. I'll leave you to it for now, but – huh? Yes, yes of course. I'll always be at the end of the line if you need me. Okay, goodbye, love you too. Send my love to your family," She put the phone down and leant against the table again, trying to find resolve. "Gwen, sweetheart, could you give us a moment?"

"Sure," the atmosphere had changed so suddenly, it was disorientating. She left them alone for nearly ten minutes going for a walk.

When she came back, she found Ben and Kevin standing awkwardly in the doorway, watching the couple. They were sat on the floor, or more precisely, River was, and Taylor was lying on his side with his head in her lap. She was making soothing noises, stroking his hair, and murmuring to him. They couldn't see his face from their vantage point, but the set of his shoulders spoke volumes.

"What happened?" Gwen asked.

Kevin gestured helplessly, and Ben said in a low voice. "I think Taylor's grandmother or something died. They just got a call about it."

XOXOX

It was with great relief that Michelle persuaded her ex, her husband, and her _husbands_ ex to go to dinner like a civilised family, leaving Tom, Steph and Mel to baby-sit.

And of course, Miley regretted agreeing to the administration of jabs at home.

Steph had bribed Erin and Ella, along with Crystal and Kev, to sit down and watch WALL.E with copious amounts of popcorn. Which meant someone periodically had to keep an eye on them, either Mel or Tom, while everyone else prepared themselves for the trauma of the space rabies injection.

Mikey had run around screaming about the needle being an inch in diameter, before tripping over Steph's guitar and curling into a ball and feigning unconsciousness. Steph gulped, lost her healthy tan, and tried to bury herself under a pile of the twin's toys. Ben and Gwen looked resigned, with Kevin laughing at them until Miley reminded him he needed to take oral immunisation, in the form of a disgusting herbal mix that turned even Lea's cast iron stomach.

"Oh for god's sake!" Miley snarled, considering getting Lea to pin them down one by one, and chain Kevin to the wall to stop him from running away. "Man up! The rookies took theirs with dignity!" About as much dignity as a wet flannel…but they didn't need to know the finer details.

"I don't _wanna_ be jabbed!" Mikey whined, pretending to cry. "I wanna go home!"

"Babies, the lot of you," she snarled, breaking the seal of the packet. "May you all die a horrible and dehydrated death!"

It was this level of resistance, coupled with the fact that River had texted ahead to say she would be late because Taylor was grieving for his great grandmother, that had Miley in such a foul mood. Lea wasn't much help either, in all honesty; Mel was keeping a respectful distance, which left Miley floating in the middle somewhere.

"Lea, a little help?" she snapped, squeezing the excess air out of the syringe.

In the end, Mikey took it as a cowardly wolf pup as opposed to a man, with Lea's teeth sunk into his quivering neck and yelping like a new born. Steph thrust out her arm, eyes squeezed shut and face averted; Kevin couldn't stop himself laughing when she started to cry, as it was so out of character for her.

Gwen went last, clinging to Kevin's arm and Mikey's front leg. He had curled up in a ball behind the bunk bed, licking his mutilated shoulder balefully. After having watched Steph cry and Ben scream like a girl, Miley had to try and be as soothing as she temper would allow.

Poor girl, it was very little comfort when the needle hit the blood stream.

Gwen yelped and jerked away from her as soon as all the liquid was injected into her system; tears streaming down her cheeks and hand clamped firmly over the hole in her arm.

It wasn't that Miley was being the worst ever nurse today, though that didn't really help matters; it was a natural response to pain that made your eyes water, some pain more than others. Having a larger than normal needle inject a slightly alkaline substance into your bloodstream was not exactly excruciating, but neither was it moderately uncomfortable.

It bloody well stung.

"Come here," Miley went after Kevin like an avenging angel.

Oddly enough, he complied readily, until Mel came into the attic room with River and Taylor behind her.

"More for the mass inoculation." She announced. "I think I'll call for pizza. Anyone?"

There was a chorus of groans in response.

"Bloody hell, it's like a plague pit," River remarked, inspecting the rolled up sleeve of her white chequered shirt. "So, where do you want me?"

Miley kindly ushered Taylor to the sofa before forcing River on the floor between his knees. "Brace yourself," she warned, fiddling for another syringe. It made sense to get this over and done with first before chasing Kevin, who had miraculously disappeared. Still, River could probably trick him into coming out somehow; she had a way with troublesome teenagers…

"Holy shit!" River bridled instantly at the size of the needle, blood draining from her face.

"It has to be done. Just cause these guys can't get it now doesn't mean they can't incubate it." Miley told her, cleaning the area to be injected with a sterile wipe. "Don't look so startled. You're a wolf, attacking things head on! Not a scared little rabbit cowering in a hole…"

"Need I remind you I have a mild fear of medical hypodermic needles?" She snapped back. "And if I really _were_ a wolf you'd have to tranquillise me first."

River was fine with med stuff like this; over the years she had given more blood samples than there was blood in her entire body put together. And that didn't count the transfusions she had been given over time, which numbered greatly.

Though, most of those needles had been a lot smaller, if she was honest… Miley couldn't resist flicking the cylinder like they did in the movies and advance on her menacingly. Acupuncture needles were nicer to be stuck with, since they were so much more slender, and flexible; unlike the great hulking thing she held in her hands right now.

"If you keep doing that I am going to get _very_ stressed and I'll kill you if I miscarry," River snarled viciously.

This was merely an emotional front to vent her frustration, and she didn't mean a word of it. Sighing, Miley said, "Come here," and grabbed her hand, sticking the needle into the muscle of her upper arm.

"Yikes!" her head snapped right back as her voice went through several octaves. Taylor leant forward and wrapped his arms under hers, holding her still and offering comfort.

The deadened look in his eyes didn't quite reassure either of them.

"There," Miley wiped her hands on a med cloth and hunted for the bin. "All done."

River cursed her violently, making Ben and Gwen stare at her in amazement.

"Didn't know you had it in you," Ben said weakly, nursing his own arm.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow…" River grimaced, climbing onto the sofa. "Touch me again and you'll _die_, understand?"

"Yeah, yeah."

She was so all over the place; death threats just didn't feel the same anymore, which was actually a shame. Miley and Lea didn't need a top up jab for about eighteen months, so she busied herself with preparing for Kevin. Where ever he was…

In the end, it boiled down to Gwen coaxing him out from behind Mikey, and then she and River grabbing him to force the mix down. To give the boy credit, he didn't wretch, but he ran for a drink to wash the taste away afterwards.

"Good job girls!" Miley went for a high-five, and got a glare from Gwen before she stalked off to sit with Mikey. River moved as though to slap her, but pivoted on her back leg and flopped onto Mel's bed instead.

"I'm getting a new doctor…"

"Aren't I good enough?"

"It's been a crazy day…"

Miley waited for the opportune moment that evening to ask questions, which came while they were alone with Gwen in the kitchen eating pizza while the others filtered off to do various activities, and Taylor was answering a call to nature two storeys up and out of the way.

"Tell me what happened," she said firmly, trying to rip the last mushroom pizza slice in half so they didn't fight over it.

"Well, Mel was right," River chewed thoughtfully. "Gwen found, saw _and_ communicated with the bump. And manna is chi is energy is _everything_ so shut up I told you so," she put in before Miley could respond. "And then Chrissie called to say Babs' died."

"Oh," Miley breathed, feeling her eyes tear up.

Barbara Pelkey was the mother of the chief of the T'souke Nation, and a wonderful woman; Miley remembered her first visit to Vancouver Island, and being invited into the old woman's house before she even knew her connection to River. She had battled cancer on and off for about fifteen years, and when asked, River confirmed that the last bout took her out.

"I know, it's horrible." River kept her emotions on a tight chain, but it leaked out from the corner of her eyes, although her voice remained steady and calm. "But she was with her friends and family, and she went with dignity. Taylor's gutted though, he wished he was there,"

"But he was here with you. And junior," Miley reminded her. "I'm sure she understood that,"

"But they don't know yet. I told my mum and said keep it a secret until we get further along and know there's nothing wrong. And Taylor's feeling really guilty,"

"It's no one's fault," Gwen piped up, making Miley jump. "My grandmother said that when you die the energy goes back to the earth. I think some cultures call it Gaia,"

"Yeah," River nodded. "I always thought of her disappearing in a sunbeam. It just seemed fitting. Anyway, I need some help," she turned to Miley, who nodded earnestly.

"Anything you need,"

"Is it safe to go back to Sooke by airship? We can't afford the gas to go up and back, and I don't want Taylor to chose between me and his family. Plus driving would take too long."

Miley frowned at her wording; she was deliberately trying to keep the whole 'having to chose' thing low key by adding in obviously planned after thoughts.

"But you _are_ family," Gwen said, apparently irritated by the thought.

"Not that simple, sweetheart." Miley told her. "It's more complicated than that." She narrowed her eyes at River, who gave her a pleading look back. "Though Gwen _does_ have a point, oh Shaman of the North."

"But I want to be at the funeral too." River pressed. "I owe Babs a lot, the least I could do is be there. Also, I need to sort a few things out with my landlord, and we can look at the house on the Rez."

Miley considered these factors carefully, and nodded, satisfied that there were no major health risks. "Stay at a low altitude." She advised.

River covered her face momentarily, before peeking through the gaps between her fingers. "I need a hug…"

"Oh," Miley wanted to cry now! River had that effect on her mood.

They both hugged her, but Miley broke off short when Taylor came back into the room.

"You're talking about that phone call, aren't you?" he said dully.

"Making plans," River cut over him. "Air ship's okay, just need to find one now. And there is some good news for the day,"

"Like?" he sighed heavily, leaning against the counter.

River looked to Gwen, and back to her boyfriend. "Baby's all right. More than all right. And we can think of names, now."

He gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm not good at boy's names."

"Just out of curiosity," Miley said when Ben and Kevin came in for more food. "If it was a boy, what would you name it?"

They looked at each other, before saying together, "James."

After her late grandfather, whom she idolised. Miley should have seen it coming.

"It's a nice enough name." Taylor shrugged. "Girl's are easier, though."

"Phoenix is a bit cliché if I'm honest…" River looked up into his face. "Baby cakes." She added.

He smiled weakly, and leant down to kiss her.

"Go make out somewhere else," Miley shoved off with a big plate of pizza to the front room.

As the evening progressed and the kids went to bed, Miley wished they hadn't taken her words to heart. She managed to run into Gwen and Kevin, perched on the kitchen counter kissing over a packet of digestive biscuits, Mikey having a close phone call with Sally Newman, and when she tried to go brush her teeth, she found River and Taylor all over each other.

"Look!" she said firmly, not sure whether to laugh, cry, or punch the wall by this point. "I appreciate that it's been an emotional day for you both and you need comfort and reassurance and all, but stop getting in my way!" Why were those two so infuriating?

"Miley," River said on the threshold of the bathroom as she followed Taylor back into the attic room. She made a gesture in sign language, Australian sign language to be precise, and a rather rude one at that. "See you in the morning," and she slammed the door in her face.

Snarling, Miley snatched her toothbrush and took out her frustration on her gums. "Bloody stupid blonde…" she muttered.

Something hit the door with considerable force. "I heard that!" River called.

"Cannit, bitch," Miley snapped back.

The door slammed open again and she stood there, poised on the lintel with fire in her eyes. "Oh you _did not_ just go there Miley," she marched forward with intent.

Sadly for her, Taylor came in, grabbed her by the waist, and flung her over his shoulder. "Come on, Babes. Bed time,"

River shrieked at him and threatened to beat him up as he carried her out, but by the time Miley finished in the bathroom and came out, she was out for the count with Taylor gently massaging a point on the back of her neck with his index finger.

"I can't thank you enough for telling me where the acupuncture points are," he said with a genuine smile.

"Thank _you_ for paying attention," Miley grinned back.

XOXOX

**Dragged on a bit there…. :S this was meant to get posted yesterday but I had to drop everything to go help baby sit, and I feared my laptop wouldn't survive the first five minutes if they got their mits on it xD so, what with the delay in writing and updating…. xD I'm trying to devote more consistent time to writing stories, in between essays on how most English authors of the medieval era are crazy and in some cases psychotic (Dr Faustus can burn for all I care at the moment xP)**

**Please do drop me a review and let me know what you think! :)**


	31. The Name of The Game

**AN: odd week, to say the least xD I confess that I haven't got much work done on any level, except music. This has been written for a few days but I just didn't have enough time to upload and/or post. And then last night our internet went down and I cried :'( but its back today :D**

**Enjoy!**

_**The Name of The Game**_

The morning was largely uneventful, except for the fact that Mikey bullied River into showing them all a video on youtube that had been put there by one of her old sixth form classmates. Having gathered Gwen, Steph and Kevin, and forced River to find the right video, he settled in for what he called 'quality entertainment'.

"You sure it's that hilarious?" Kevin said impatiently.

"Depends entirely on which video he's on about," Steph frowned. "Which one _are_ you banging on about?"

"You'll see," Mikey grinned.

Gwen, having hoped to get some work down today, sighed and let him force her to sit and watch. It was actually rather entertaining; River and Lea goofing off with half a dozen others, with three in particular who kept returning to the screen periodically.

"Oh, it's Kegan," Steph frowned. "Don't like him much," she sniffed.

"You're just saying that because he tipped you in the sea on Halloween." Mikey slipped in.

"He's…" River leant against her arm, watching a younger version of herself with shorter hair running away from a guy with tightly curled black hair and a loud, vulgar voice. "I don't know quite how to describe him."

"That one?" Kevin pointed at the curly haired

"No," she motioned at another guy who had more floppy hair, dark and streaked with flaxen. "_That_ one. He…I guess he's nice enough once you get to know him. Well, him _and_ Jonny…"

"No." Steph snarled, glaring at the guy who grabbed the camera from Miley and started dancing a jig, amid gales of laughter from the others in the room. "He's a prick, you just get used to it."

"Well…" River shrugged. "There is that…"

"It's funny," Mikey sniggered, trying to hide behind his hand and failing to stifle his mirth. "Kegan's the best when it comes to randomness."

"I remember Children Need the last year I was there," River mused aloud, flicking through her work planner that had finally run out of clear space for doodling. "Dean was banging on about his trip to DC and how amazingly awesome it was, and Jonny came along and said that Americans were crap on the basis that English castles are by and large all older than their country."

"Bit harsh," Kevin scoffed, clearly offended by this Jonny character's unintelligent view on life.

"I remember the day really well. I was wearing glow in the dark pyjamas and Lea was wearing women's underwear on the outside of his clothes. And Kegan was dressed as Frankenfurter. And then Jonny was banging on about how America sucks based on this one fact." She took a swig from her hip flask, and cursed when she found it empty. Shrugging the inconvenience off, she put the flask down and said, "I managed to shut him up though, it was a right laugh when I did it in front of the head master."

"What did you do?"

"Oh yeah," Steph grinned. "This is amazing! She shut the bastard up. I saw him storming away from the decking outside the English block, and trip over the tulip bed. It was hilarious!"

"I just turned to him very innocently and said, 'Yeah, our buildings may be older than their country, but their trees are older than Jesus'. Didn't have a response to that one,"

Gwen laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "You certainly have a way with words,"

"And the sad thing is I spent an entire evening formulating that one. I watched a Ray Mears show about California, and he mentioned about how difficult it is to believe that the tree they were filming was older than most English Castles, and I thought it would make a good come back one day."

"Older than Stone Henge?" Mikey pressed.

"I…wouldn't know that one. Then again, later that day Dean came by to visit the school since he was redrafting coursework for Mr Lowe before he went to Chilli to do some relief work. Kegan and Lea ambushed him so I came into the study room with the head of psychology to get my notes and found them dancing around the table with him lying on it screaming about how he didn't want to get sacrificed to the glory of the dark gods." She kept a serious expression, which crumbled when Steph and Mikey bursting out laughing, making her grin as well. "As you do, you know. That sort of thing happens all the time in a respectable sixth form study room!"

"Did you do _any _work at all when you were at school?" Kevin demanded, practically draping himself over her shoulder in his quest for knowledge.

River brushed him off absent-mindedly. "Not really. I did most of my work on the train and at home. Study periods were a time for art and sports. Plus Kegan was in my biology set, so we used to go down to Gregg's on the high street and bitch about photosynthesis and the water potential of a grain of salt."

"Absolutely riveting stuff," Steph snapped her fingers and Kevin hurled a wrench at her. "Argh!" she shrieked, diving out of the way. "What the hell! I wasn't ready for that!"

And so, they locked horns and aimed for the jugular.

Gwen sighed heavily, and Mikey sat down beside her. "I wish they wouldn't always do that."

"They wouldn't be the Steph and Kevin we know and love if they didn't." Mikey said dreamily. "Guess what?"

"What?" her narrowed eyes watched the fighting pair's every move.

"I'm going on an unofficially official date."

_That_ brought Gwen back to reality. "What? With Sally?"

"Yup!" he grinned.

"Aww, congrats!" she hugged him in celebration, but then a thought crossed her mind, and she poked him hard in the ribs.

"Ouch!"

"You try scoring because she's feeling low and out of it, and I'll gut you like a minnow."

"Yikes, that hurts! Okay, okay! Gwen, yeesh!" Mikey shoved her away from him, giggling like an idiot. "I'm not _that_ much of a jerk. Give me some credit," he fluffed up his t-shirt. "That's why it's an unofficial official date, cause _she_ asked _me_ if I wanted to go hang out some time and I said yes but where did she want to go."

"What did she say?"

"The bowling alley. First thing Saturday morning when no one's around so we don't run into people. And then we'll go for a walk along the beach or something equally random. Then we can have ice cream!" his eyes lit up, like a little kid's at Christmas. "I wonder if she likes mango?"

Gwen laughed, and swatted at him. "Try not to trip over yourself,"

"I did that once," he said thoughtfully, tapping the mouse as he spoke. "I tied the laces on my skating boots together. I didn't notice until I was flat on my face in the middle of the ice rink. I lost the competition."

It was the silly, childish little grin on his face that kept Gwen laughing.

"Well, I've got to go. I said I'd help Lea look for a flat."

"Huh?" Gwen grabbed his arm reflexively as he made to leave. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, didn't Steph tell you? We're having our stay extended by eighteen months, Plumber's orders. So we're looking for a flat we can stay in so we don't keep sponging off Gerald."

Gwen was outraged. "Just when did you think you were going to tell _me_ you were going to leave?" she demanded.

"Woah!" Mikey took a step back, hand raised in defence. "Look, I was going to mention it until Miley came back and said that we were staying longer, so there didn't seem any point in saying anything. It doesn't look like we'll be moving from here for the next three years at least!"

Mollified, Gwen kicked him out of the workshop so he could go house hunting, and was surprised when Miley came racing in with her younger brother's grin in place. "Look what _I _borrowed!" she threw a book at River, who tried to catch it, over balanced, and landed on the floor with a crack.

"My coccyx!" she whined as Miley and Kevin dragged her to her feet.

"What is this?" Kevin looked at the offending book. "The Almighty Book of Namingness?"

"Shut up!" River bounced back from her sulk, snatching the book from him. "I own the copy rights to that phrase."

"Do not!"

"Do to,"

"So do not!"

"She so does," Miley put in, but got pushed out of the way.

"I thought of it first,"

"No, I did just now!"

"No, you didn't! I came up with that before you were out of diapers, mate," River's accent wavered into about three discernable accents in one sentence, which was messing with Gwen's head; Western Canadian, Mid-American, and finishing on Southern English.

"Yeah, well," Kevin struggled to get a foothold on the argument. "How do you know I wasn't lying just now and that I actually came up with it years before I met you?"

"I was ten when you came into the world," she reminded him, whacking him smartly upside the head with the offending book. "I was making up crap before you were even _thought _about. Plus, I was born first. Ergo, I win."

"Bitch," he muttered as she retreated smugly.

"_Any_way," Miley sighed. "I had an idea. Steph, stop playing with that gun and come over here a sec,"

"It's not a _gun_," Steph sneered, hefting the weapon she had been fixing over her shoulder and joining them by the table. "It's a _laser cannon_. See? There's a difference,"

"I couldn't care less. Look," Miley took some clean paper from River' folder, ignoring her protests. "I thought we could all help chose a name for the baby. Everyone has three letters, and they have to choose three names that start with each one, so everyone will have nine each. Then we can narrow the list down!"

"Why?" River fell into a seat and made a show of sobbing in despair. "Just _why_ do I let you breathe?"

"Because I'm awesome like that," Miley said smugly. "You up for it people?"

"Go on then," Steph said in defeat, dumping the cannon.

"No way! That needs finishing," Kevin complained.

"You do it then! I'm going to be _helpful_ today," Steph hugged River and sat down next to her.

"Screw you then," Kevin muttered, taking his work to the far end of the table.

"Won't you watch?" Gwen asked innocently.

He was onto her; she could see it in his eyes. But he moved closer so he was sat beside her, though he ignored the grin Steph was giving him.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen."

"Here," Miley gave them all pen and paper before Steph could turn her snowball comment into an avalanche. "Okay, Gwen…you can have A, S, and T. Steph, C, P, D. River, M, R, O. And I'll have K, H, I." She flung her book into the centre of the table and said, "Five minutes. Reference the book if you like."

Well over ten minutes later Miley called a halt, and Gwen looked at her suggestions unhappily. She had a mental block, and the names she had written down looked rather poor.

"So," Miley smiled at them all encouragingly. "Who wants to go first?"

"Couldn't this wait until Taylor gets here?" River asked forlornly. "It's _his_ baby too, you know."

"Where is he anyway?"

"Getting me food."

"Fair enough. Steph? How's about you?"

"Okay…" Steph put her pen down and peered at her handiwork. "Chloe, Charlotte, Clara. Phoebe, Pauline, Paige. Um…Daniella, Demi, and Dianna."

"That sounds reasonable." Miley said, taking the sheet from her.

"They sound lovely." Gwen lamented over her own list.

"They sound weird. _Everyone_'s called Charlotte in Fareham…" Steph muttered.

"Gwen?"

"Um…" she flushed. "Alice, Anna, Abigail, Sara, Sandra, Susan, Tilly, Tabbetha and Tamzin.

"They sound nice, don't they?" Miley tried to get a response from River.

"They're names?" she offered when Miley pressed her. "I don't know. Now that we know she's a girl my brain has gone to smoosh. I don't know what to do! Where the _hell_ is my hunter-gatherer?"

"Let's hear yours then," Miley took the list from her and read it herself. "Melanie. Aww, that's sweet! Millie, Minky – Ohh that's a nice one. Raelyn…seriously, Celtic?"

"Shut up. It's my heritage."

"Rachel, Roxie…hmm, not too sure about that. Olivia – quite nice. Ocean. Are you even _trying_? And Oriana. Well, it's better than I hoped."

"Shut up and sod off. Its easy for _you_ to say when it's not your own flesh and blood," River snapped.

"Though I have to admit." Miley regarded her thoughtfully. "River always did strike me as a new age sort of name."

"I was found in a basket by an oxbow lake alongside a river." She sighed heavily. "You know what my mum's like, she took it as a sign and named me so. It's all a waste of time if you ask me; the only thing that matters is your true name."

"Spare me a magical lecture. Now, listen to mine,"

"I don't _do_ magic! The most I can do is levitate an apple for five minutes provided it stays close to me. I can't perform spells or anything…"

Miley ploughed on uninvited. "Kaitlyn, Kathryn, Kara, Hannah, Harriet, Heidi. Isobel, India and Imogene." When she finished, she asked, "Well? Anything tickle your fancy?"

River was slowly getting angry; Gwen recognised the set to her shoulders, but also that she was trying to squash it down. "Miley, I appreciate the sentiment, I really do. But could Taylor and I argue over this for ourselves? You know, since it's our life together and all."

"You'll thank me for this one day," Miley was confident.

River laid her head against the tabletop and said, "Kevin?"

"Yeah?"

"Wake me up when September ends…"

He sniggered, still tinkering with the laser cannon, but didn't say anything.

The day was slow after River decided to go to sleep; Mikey texted periodically to say how the hunt was going, and Steph and Kevin continued to bicker and fix random pieces of tech as they went along. Gwen aimlessly doodled over the back of an old English essay, watching Miley compile a list of names longer than the book she had brought along with her.

"Shame she didn't go into the meanings and stuff, isn't it?" River yawned widely, shifting to a more comfortable position.

Gwen smiled. "Yeah. I felt so stupid, I just wrote down whatever came to mind!"

"She has a tendency to do that, and then she looses sight of her original focus." There was a comfortable pause before she said, "Kaitlyn's a nice name, though. So's Charlotte. I think Tamzin's a Cornish name. Anyway, it's really pretty."

"I'm glad you think so," Gwen was actually relieved. "I _love_ the name Kaitlyn."

"But…oh, I don't know. None of them really seem to fit. I mean, you tend to find that a person's name suits their personality. And yet Miley can't get that idea drummed into her head…"

"What about a Native American name?" Gwen suggested. "Or Canadian." She corrected herself. "I'm sure you and Taylor could come up with a really good name."

"Hmm…I hadn't thought of that. Guess we were both trying to steer clear of the whole 'cultural' thing." She laughed.

"I thought you liked it,"

"Well, you know. Forcing your own ideas and beliefs onto your children seems a bit…I dunno." She shrugged helplessly. "Also, I don't know how his father would react…"

Gwen felt really bad for her, but River gave her a sincere smile. "I know one or two names, but I don't know how good they are…"

"Go on," Gwen encouraged.

"Well…Shikoba? It means _feather_. I'm not sure which language or dialect it is, though. I'm fairly certain it's American, not Canadian."

"Shikoba," Gwen tried it on her lips, and shook her head. "Maybe for a horse, but a modern day girl name…"

"I know." River laughed. "Let's see…Fala? _Crow_, although those birds have a negative impact in most cultures…Kimi's _secret_, Nina means _fire_…I quite like Koda. It's Dakota Sioux for _friend_."

"That's a nice name." Gwen agreed. Koda…it was more than nice. "Maybe you could run that by Taylor?"

"You know what? I'll text him right now and see what he says," she said, taking her phone out.

"Hey," Kevin slammed a stack of papers down between them.

"Do I _look_ like a goddamn horse?" River teased.

"You're an artist, right?" Kevin took another chair and sat down on Gwen's other side.

"After a fashion," River admitted.

"We got given a new topic in art; pick a culture from any era and continent and do a study on them. I chose North American Aboriginal Art." He grinned at her.

"Much as I hate to admit that that particular phrase is a highly appropriate term to use, it makes me think of Australia and their bog-off _huge_ spiders." She gestured with her hands to emphasize just how big these spiders were.

Gwen stifled a laugh while Kevin guffawed.

"So, what you been up to?" River snatched the pile of sketches and rifled through them.

"Well…" Kevin's face darkened with a blush that intensified when Gwen caressed the side of his face lovingly. "I sort of stole a book off you earlier in the week…"

"Oh, Steph said Mikey made off with it," she said absently, looking at one in particular. "Don't worry, just so long as I know where it is. By the way," she flipped the paper over so Gwen could see. "_Great_ sketch. That," she pointed at the beautifully shaded creature with it's geometric structure amplified by the light colouring over the graphite. "Is amazing for someone who's not used to the art form. It's a Mama bear and her unborn cub, right? Preparing for winter. Massively Salish," she grinned, putting it down to pick up another. "The best there is, I might add."

"That one," Kevin leant across Gwen to throw one into River's hands. "I got a bit stuck with the eyes…"

"Oh. It's Haida," River frowned at it. "Yeah…I can see why; you've over complicated the eye. Give us a pencil, will you?"

Gwen handed one over, and River made a quick sketch on the space beside the fish. "It needs to curl over like this…and that needs to move a bit to the left…"

"Wow!" Gwen breathed, marvelling at the difference it made.

"Cool!" Kevin looked like he was ready to flatten her with a Steph hug.

"Aww!" River grabbed at a piece of paper before she could be stopped, and leant away so she was out of reach. "That's so sweet!"

Kevin tried to swipe it from her hands, and before he got up to harass River, Gwen got a good look at the picture.

It was rough, still in the construction stage; light and wavery sketch marks made a halo of grey around the solid looking lines that hadn't been shaded over yet. It looked like a dog or a wolf – it was so hard to tell without it being pointed out – and it was sort of arching its back, but in reverse so that it's head and hind quarters were bent towards the heavens, looking up at a circle that could have been a crescent moon, with a little bird that had a long, slender beak imposed on the disc. There was no colour to it yet, but sample scribbles of various browns, blues and reds had been scuffed around the edges of the paper, with three types of green stabbed into the top right hand corner.

"Can I have a look?" Gwen asked, holding out her hand to River.

Kevin stopped trying to tackle her, and sulked as the paper was handed over to Gwen. "It's not finished!" he whined.

"It's amazing!" River snapped back. "And oh so very sweet," she grinned evilly.

"On noes!" Taylor had appeared from nowhere and clapped his hands on her shoulders. "The evil smirk of doom!"

"And we want…" River leant back and looked up at him looming over her. "…What, exactly?"

"Hey babes," he said, affecting a rather camp air and a lisp, and leant down to kiss her.

"_Oh god_, it wants something from me," she teased.

"Well, I thought it wanted feeding, but if its mind has been changed…" Taylor waved a packet of fudge at River tantalisingly.

"Gimme!" she held out her arms expectantly, the effect ruined by her silly little giggle. "You love me, don't you? Wouldn't want us both to starve, now, would you,"

Gwen went back to studying the picture, tracing the line of the wolf's spine with her finger. Looking up, she saw Kevin watching her anxiously before looking away and pretending he hadn't been staring at her.

She smiled, and put the paper down on the tabletop. "It's beautiful,"

Kevin took a moment to answer, but when he did, he said gruffly, "I was thinking of you when I drew it."

Before Gwen could form an answer, River butted in by saying, "Our little sorceress has come up with an idea."

"Oh yeah?" Taylor asked, dumping his bag and taking out some wood, which he started attacking with his knife.

"How about an Indian name?"

He paused in the act of scraping a large curl of wood shaving, and took his knife away from it, leaving the half formed ringlet stuck there while he considered this proposal.

"Well…" he gave her an apologetic look.

"It's alright." River said unconvincingly. "Miley and Mel know a tonne of Celtic names and stuff, we could-"

"No," he shook his head sheepishly. "No, I was thinking along the same lines before, but I didn't want to force it on you…"

"No!" River looked insulted, making Kevin laugh. She whacked him smartly over the head with Gwen's pencil case. "I was just floating between the cultures, but I quite like the idea myself. If _you're_ happy,"

"More than happy," he grinned, dropping his wood lump and knife to give her his full attention.

"I've got a couple," River began.

"Pocahontas!" Kevin crowed.

Gwen took her turn in hitting him over the head.

"I'll shut up now…" he said with a grin, grabbing a clean piece of paper and a pencil.

"You do that," River patted him condescendingly on the head earning a glower from him.

Gwen repeated the names they had come up with, and Taylor threw in a few more, and they even tried writing them down and picking one at random, but the parents-to-be couldn't agree on one in particular.

"I like Shikoba," River lamented as her partner shook his head sadly. "But it's more of a horse name…"

"I liked Koda," he said doubtfully.

"Argh," River buried her face in her hands. "And there I thought at the age of sixteen naming my kids would be easy…"

Gwen switched her attention to Kevin's drawing hand, and stared at the picture. "Did you reference that? Or just make it up on the spot?"

"Huh?" he had been leaning his cheek against his free hand, staring at the opposite wall, and her comment had startled him into making a jagged black line across the whale he had been drawing.

"Oh," Gwen felt horrible for ruining the picture. "I'm sorry!"

Kevin surveyed the damage. He shrugged, clearly more than a bit upset, but able to turn a blind eye. "It's just a picture Gwen, _gees_!"

"But it was a pretty drawing,"

"Maybe you should go meditate," Taylor suggested.

"I can't be bothered right now," River followed Kevin's example and started doodling on a clean sheet.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, and Kevin started talking to Gwen about his project. She was keen to see what he had already done, and liked that he took her comments and opinions on board, although neither ventured to ask if she could do some drawing too. She failed in a most epic fashion when it came to sketching; there was a sheet of paper on Kevin's desk at home that proved it. Steph had seen it there one day by accident and lovingly entitled it the '_Blob of many shades_'. Gwen would never live that down…

Taylor got involved too, telling them about the style that Kevin had been heavily copying in this particular group of drawings. He admitted to stealing a book off River on the Pacific North West, and Taylor's glower forbade any mention of Twilight or La Push.

"My people are the Salish people," he explained, going back to his whittling. "We're known as _Coast_ Salish because we lived by the sea. Surprise, surprise." Gwen laughed and he grinned. "You see here? It's rather simplistic, all things considered. It's not overly intricate. Now, look at _this_ one," he pulled an owl out and laid it beside the killer whale. "This is Haida. See? It's more intricate and detailed, especially the eye. You know why that is?"

"No," Kevin had that look on his face; he was questing for knowledge like a thirsty man quests for water. Gwen wanted to hug him tightly at his typical behaviour, but he wouldn't have appreciated the sentiment presently.

"Because," Taylor enjoyed being wise, judging by his grin. "The Haida people live further inland where it gets snowed over in the winter. So they had to hole up and sit around waiting for summer. So they had loads of time to devote to their crafting skills. The Salish people lived on the coast where it rarely snowed over, so they were still out and about in their canoes and whatnot. So they didn't give as much time to their art. And that's why the two styles are so different," he looked pleased with himself when Kevin whistled in awe.

"I never knew something as simple as geography could influence art style," Gwen admitted to her ignorance.

"I remember," Taylor laughed, nudging River's elbow. "When my uncle told Riv this. She smacked her forehead and said loudly, 'Of course! It makes _complete_ sense!' Upset a couple of people, though they were only tourists…"

They waited for River to respond, but she didn't.

"Hello?" Taylor poked her in the ribs.

"_Mmm_…go…'way…" she was barely awake. And yet, Gwen watched as her hand gripped the pencil and traced lines over the paper.

"What's she doing?" Kevin asked, frowning at her unconscious actions.

"She's doing a dream sketch," Taylor turned to get Miley's attention. "Yo! Smiles, come look at this,"

River put the pencil down as Miley approached, and shoved the paper to the centre of the table, still with her head against the tabletop; eyes closed, lips parted, breath deep and even. Every inch asleep like a log.

"What did she do?" Miley grabbed the paper and scrutinised it. "Hey!" Taylor snatched it off her to look for himself.

"Let me see," Kevin demanded, taking it from him so he and Gwen could look.

It was a bit like a totem pole, only not quite… A killer whale, or orca or whatever, curved into a 'C' shape, with a wolf on top using it's head and fluked tail as a platform; standing with its head held high while also supporting a small, distinctly whale shaped form on its back.

"Jesus Christ," Miley went pale for a moment. "When she wakes up," she looked uncertain.

"Christ on the what now?" River roused herself, yawning widely and staring at them with eyes caked with sleep.

"Bugger," Miley sighed. "You had a funny turn and started drawing in your sleep."

"Look," Taylor took the paper off Kevin and showed River. She rubbed the dust from her eyes and looked at it blankly. "What were you dreaming of?"

River blinked. "Nothing. I don't remember anything, especially this. Last I remember you saying I should go meditate and me saying I _CBA_."

And then Gwen made a link; River's delicate charm bracelet had an orca dangling from it, which she was given to fiddling with constantly. Taylor had a pendant that usually hid beneath his shirt, but was hanging out today; carved from wood with a wolf and orca both compressed into a circular disc. How one wore light and airy blues, and the other wore down to earth browns and greens. Sea creature and land mammal; water and sky versus root and earth. Never clashing, but complementing each other.

That explained part of the drawing; River had drawn herself and Taylor, using each other as support, and holding up…

"I'm freaked out now," Kevin said quietly.

"Meh," River shrugged, yawning. "You get used to it after a while. This isn't new, although…I haven't done that in a while."

"A whale." Taylor said softly, his mind thinking along the same lines as Gwen's. He turned to River and said, "I have an idea."

"Hmm?" she looked at him dazedly, still not entirely awake yet.

"Ahmoua."

"Sorry?"

"Ahmoua. It means _whale_."

"Ahmoua…" River tried the name out, rolling the sounds over her tongue like she was tasting a drink.

"Aww," Miley cooed, stroking River's hair before fluffing it out at the sides. "It's such a pretty name! Don't you think so?"

"Yeah sure," Kevin snorted, and Gwen elbowed him in the ribs. "If you _like_ that sort of thing."

"I like it," Gwen told River. "But it's your choice."

"Oh, don't give her a choice," Miley teased, whisking River's hair back and forth so it looked like a haystack. "She'll be spinning round freaking out over how she can't choose."

"She has to live with our decision for the rest of her life." River reminded her. "And _get off my hair_ before I beat you with this," she grabbed Kevin's stolen copy of _Pacific Northwest Coast Aboriginal Art: What Am I Seeing?_

"Fine, don't take my advice," Miley fluffed the ends of her once-ringletted locks, before bouncing off to do her own paper work.

"Gladly," River grumbled, smoothing her mane of golden hair back into order.

Taylor was watching her very intently, and waited until she turned in her seat to Kevin to ask a question. Before she could get a word out, Taylor whipped the bandana out of her hair and dived out of his chair, cackling like a mad man.

River swore, hand clamping down too late on her scalp. "_Bitch_ bring back my bandana!"

"Haha!" Taylor giggled, waving it at her. "Come get it if you want it that badly!"

"I can't be arsed to get up, this is a comfortable seat," River turned to Kevin, mouth open in uncertainty while he laughed at her. "Right, anyway," She shook her head and her thoughts into order. "Like I was going to say,"

"Colour scheme! Steph's crap at helping…"

"Red, black, white, and a bit of yellow and green here and there. There's a section in the book, here I'll show you," she flicked through the pages and showed him.

Kevin put his head down, nose almost touching his paper as he drew. Taylor floated in the background, trying to get her attention, and Gwen giggled as she and Kevin studiously ignored him and poured over their art.

"I'm guessin'…" Kevin turned his sheet of paper at all angles to fully appreciate the meaningless shapes and blobs of colour. "Black?"

"Yes."

"And white here,"

"Yup."

"With a red blob _there_,"

"I would have said red _there_ and yellow here, but that sounds good too."

Taylor deflated as River continued to deny him attention, and Gwen guessed sooner or later he'd pull a Steph on her. In the mean time, Gwen stole a loose sheet of paper and started drawing a continuous line of stars. It was something her friend Georgia did at the back of their chemistry lessons to pass the time while they watched bad VCRs disintegrate on the screen. She drew a five pointed star, pen never leaving the paper, but instead of closing the gap on the last point and leaving it at that, she drew a long neat line from the point a few inches long before starting a new star, and repeating the process. Georgia made it look so easy and simple; Gwen made a complete mess of it.

"Cool!" River neatly slid the paper come from under her hands and inspected it. "That's an idea I could have used at A Level! It would have looked so cool with my Egyptian night sky project,"

Taylor started doing what Gwen could only have described as a rain dance; he paraded around behind River's chair, waving his arms and all but chanting to gain her attention. Gwen tried to stop laughing at the incredulous look Kevin gave him, and River continued to refuse any acknowledgment when he pestered her about making Taylor stop.

"It's _distracting_," he whined.

"I don't see anything," River said simply, her eyes bright with humour. "So, how about a nice frog?"

"Yeah," Kevin sniggered. "All wide mouthed and gaping; just like Ben."

Gwen snorted with laughter, and he grinned at her.

"Come on, guys." River sighed dramatically. "Let's at least _try_ to be diplomatic to each other."

Taylor pulled his shirt over his head and balled it into a bundle, which he threw at River's head; it bounced off her and landed with a soft sound on the concrete floor.

"Just react or something!" Taylor pulled at his hair dramatically.

"_Oh_ come off it!" River grabbed the book and stood up. "I've had enough of this!" she raised the book as a weapon, and he pounced. "Hey!" she squeaked, unprepared when he threw her over his shoulder.

"Why won't you pay any attention to me!" he whined.

"Because you're acting ridiculous! You're worse than my godson! _Put me down_!"

Taylor didn't, and pranced around the room with her, laughing loudly as she pummelled his back and demanded to be set free. Gwen laughed as well at the sheer absurdity of the situation; Kevin sniggered and went back to his project. "Not so high and mighty anymore, are we?"

Gwen hit up with her book, but smiled all the same.

"Hard to imagine he's grieving for his grandmother." Kevin said suddenly.

"Kevin," Gwen narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?" he demanded, returning her gaze.

"Firstly, it was his great-grandmother. And secondly, shut up!" she sometimes wondered if it was purely the fact that Kevin didn't stop to think things through, which made him seem so insensitive at times.

Before he could defend himself, River leaned against the wall after finally freeing herself, giggling breathlessly. Taylor leant against her, still chuckling and equally short of breath.

"Well?" he asked, pushing hair out of his eyes so he could see better.

"You're a spack."

"And?"

"I feel dizzy?"

"And?"

"You're mildly irritating."

"…And?"

"Oh, what do you want?"

Taylor pecked her on the lips. "That?"

"Well, now that _that's_ sorted," she dusted her hands and went to walk to her truck.

"Come' ere," Taylor's voice changed suddenly, sounding much closer to Steph's Portsmouth drawl than the softer Canadian accent Gwen was accustomed to hearing.

"Haha!" River danced out of his way and ran for the door. "Nah-nah you can't catch me!" she paused long enough to stick her tongue out and place her hands, finger to thumb, in font of her nose, waggling her fingers tauntingly, before pelting out of sight.

"Oi!" Taylor roared, tearing after her.

"Huh," Kevin turned his head away from the place where they had just been standing and stared at his half used sheet of paper. "That was weird."

Gwen was about to tick him off, but Miley cut in, neatly sliding into a chair opposite them and aimlessly tracing a finger over her own neatly filed paper work.

"It's just the way they are. Guess its just part of their charm as a couple…"

"Creepy," Kevin complained.

"Yeah. But it works wonders though. She did the same thing with Lea when our Uncle Barry died. Taylor's probably going to be feeling down by this evening when there's no one else around to watch him mope, but River has a way of keeping him occupied in the mean time. Anyway, it'll be fine once he gets home to sort everything out. It's more to do with the guilt of not doing anything to help that's eating at him. That, and the fact he loved Babs to pieces."

Taylor crept back to the table some time later, taking the unopened packet of fudge and signalling silence with his index finger. "Be _vewy_ vewy quite. I'm hunting Wiver's,"

River herself flew out of nowhere and flung her arm's around his neck, starling him as she trilled, "Hi!"

"Gah!" he sagged against the back of a chair. "How do you bloody do that? Sneak up on people like that?"

River gave him an innocent smile, and held out a hand to him.

"Fudge?"

He sighed dramatically. "I guess so,"

Gwen saw Kevin pulling a thoughtful expression, and spent the next ten minutes wondering what was going through his mind, as she and Steph banged the kettle against the table to make it work. Steph turned her back for a moment, and got caught up in an argument about baseball and cricket; Mikey and Taylor were at loggerheads over it (apparently both were avid fans of their chosen sport). She ran to her kinsman's aid, and Kevin popped up out of nowhere.

"Hi!" he grinned.

"What do you want?" she asked warily. She loved him and all, but she couldn't help but feel wary when he smiled like that. He took the phrase 'man of mystery' to a different level.

In answer to her question, Kevin offered a small Tupperware box with a blue lid. "Want some?"

"What is it?"

"Brownies," he lifted the lid. "I was waiting for Steph to go away cause she always eats them all."

"Aww," Gwen teased, picking one up and taking a bite. "That's so sweet," she enjoyed watching him scowl and turn his back on her, face darkening with embarrassment.

"Oooh!" River leant over his shoulder and picked up a brownie. "Don't mind if I do,"

"Hey!" Kevin could have thrown her on the floor, forced her to hand it back, or just made a cutting remark, but instead he chose to whine and follow her round the workshop, poking her in the ribs as they went. "I didn't bring those for _you_,"

"Well, my compliments to the chef anyway! I don't know why, but chocolate's a big thing for me right now," she mused, taking up a pencil and tapping it against her temple. "_Must_ be the hormones… I used to prefer savoury over sweet, and now its _all_ just sugar sugar _sugar_."

"Maybe you're just making up for the lack of sweetness in your nature," Kevin smirked, and ducked out of the way laughing like an idiot as River slowly turned and descended upon him.

"Come here, _honey_." She said menacingly.

Kevin laughed, and ran to stand behind Gwen. "Oh no," she pushed him out of the way. "You're not dragging _me_ into this,"

"What's she gonna do, tattoo 'Psycho' onto my forehead?" he laughed.

"No," River folded her arms just over her lower abdomen, above her speed bump, which Gwen swore was bigger than it had been a few days ago. "But I _do_ have access to all your records," she inspected her nails closely, frowning at one in particular. "Yeesh, I need to stop biting my nails. Anyway, I have the power to write whatever the hell I want on your official documents. I could have you committed as a paranoid schizophrenic with a phobia of doughnuts if I so desired."

"But…you _don't_, right?" Kevin made a show of looking afraid, in turn making Gwen giggle.

"Well, if it was a matter of which _food_ you offered as a bribe…"

Kevin threw the box at her, and it landed neatly on the table beside her.

"Nice throw," she complimented before descending upon it like a ravenous animal.

"River!" Taylor complained loudly. "Baseball's better, isn't it?"

"Only when it's the World Series," River said through a mouthful of brownie. "When it's The Ashes nothing else in the entire universe matters."

"See!" Mikey crowed. "The Ashes means _everything_! It's an important land mark in the history of our two nations!"

"Despite the fact that you sorely lost to a bunch of criminals and burned the wickets because you couldn't face up to the fact you _sucked_," Taylor snapped. "Baseball is _way_ more noble!"

"Hey!" River threw a book at her boyfriend. "I take offence to that; my second cousin married an Aussie, and she loves it in Sydney! Just cause your ancestors did wrong doesn't mean it should reflect on your own life,"

"Here we bloody go, a lecture! And at lunch time too," Taylor stalked off. "I'm going for chips."

Everyone was laughing as Steph ran up behind him and poked him hard in the kidneys.

"Don't forget the fish! Battered, not baked."

After a long pause, Mikey said, "That's the worst James Bond impression since my Da said to my Ma that he wanted an egg," he struck a pose. "Scrambled, not boiled," he pulled a face and Taylor left to a chorus of laughter.

River poked Kevin between the eyes, holding the brownies just out of reach. "I need to get out more. You're all sapping what little sanity I had left. Especially _you_."

Kevin unexpectedly hugged her, tightly around the middle, too low to be deemed inappropriate, but high enough to not crush her bump. "You love me _really_," he said, squeezing tighter.

"Lungs…crushed… Can't breathe…Kevin,"

Steph snuck up behind him and pounced, both of them crashing to the floor loudly. River grabbed the little Tupperware box and stepped out of their way, absently munching a brownie.

"Want some?" she waved it at Gwen.

Steph ran past, snatching the box and yelling victoriously until Kevin tackled her to the ground.

Gwen planted the heel of her hand in her temple. She felt a hand gently lower her own, and looked up into River's hazy blue eyes.

"Save those brain cells. You're going to need them once those two have finished with each other."

XOXOX

**There's a Ben 10 marathon on TV that I was tuning in and out of while I was writing out some English essays, and the first episode of Alien Force came on and I conveniently decided it was time for a break xD I had an idea for a sequel chapter to Encounter that I'm going to go work on once this is uploaded. I also have a new chapter for Steph's story, but Windows is having issues with me so that will take a bit longer to get posted -_-…**

**Well, its half term (yey!) so there is space to breathe and write :D hopefully I'll get more writing and (internet server willing) updating done**

**Feed back is gratefully appreciated! :)**

**xxx**


	32. Piece of Cake

**AN: well its been a bad week all round :( first Libya, then earthquakes in New Zealand, and then I heard that one of the main writers for Ben 10 Alien Force and Ultimate Alien passed away. I'm not overly religious and I don't often pray, but I'm keeping those affected by these tragedies in my mind.**

**I get a lot of ribbing for saying this, but I believe there is a rhyme and reason behind everything that happens in life, even if we can't see or understand it. Still, the scope of bad news this last week has been pretty monumental, and grossly unfair. It's kinda cheesy and all to leave a tribute on a Fan Fic chapter, but still, I'll pay my respects: may those who have lost their lives in these recent tragedies rest in peace, and those left behind be given the strength and support to help them through these difficult times.**

**I hope that I can bring something light-hearted to this update; I think we could all use a smile right now**

_**Piece of Cake**_

"Argh!" Steph threw the controller against the wall and scowled darkly at the cushions between her and the TV. "It's hopeless!"

"That strategy you found on the Internet – which, if you'd bothered to _listen_ – is wrong and stupid and is you use a combination of Forcea and Gamble, you could-"

"Shut up shut up _shut up_!" Steph put her hands over her ears and shook her head, blocking River out.

"You're being ridiculous!" She snapped, snatching the controller off Mikey as he retrieved it and settled into a more comfortable position.

"You know what you're doing?" Kevin asked lazily, staring at the ceiling and ignoring Steph and her spitting feathers.

"Sure. I completed this game five times over, on hundred per cent each except for the first one."

"What did you miss?"

"Disc four. My brother saved over the file when he assured me he was on _his_ profile."

"Oh." All those wasted hours…

"I punished him for that transgression." River said in a bored tone, tapping away at the controller. "What Steph is failing to recognise is that she's never been that good at RPGs."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "I'll take your word for it." He proffered Halo and Mass Effect personally…

After half an hour of intense fighting, watched by Mikey's critical eye, River beat Steph's boss and went on to level all her characters up by a considerable amount.

"Fine!" Steph shouted at her, storming out of the room like a badly scripted Dracula movie. "Be that way! See if _I_ care!" and she proceeded to trip down the stair well.

"If you crack your head open I'm not clearing the mess up!" River called after her.

"Oh look! It's a fuzz ball!" Mikey crowed loudly.

"Hey, Kevin,"

"What?" he grunted, throwing a pillow over his face so he didn't have to look into the light. River kept poking him in the ribs until he grudgingly turned his attention to the screen.

"See that blue blobby thing?"

It looked like someone had taken a sample of shag rug and bundled it together with elastic bands and cello taped two pairs of over sized toenail clippings either side of its head.

"Yeah, so?" why was this important enough to constitute depriving him of sleep?

"Watch this," River pressed A several times over, and the first character on screen – a man who looked like a warrior mummy gone wrong and annoyingly windswept hair – ran to the odd looking blue beast and swung his sword at it in a most unconvincing blow. It then proceeded to stamp its feet and making a roaring gesture with its mouth as words appeared on the screen. "Rage!" River said in a funny voice.

Mikey laughed like a little kid, and a smile managed to drag itself across Kevin's lips.

"Basically, it's attack increased." Mikey explained. "But still, Rage…ha! Priceless,"

"Who gives a shit…" Kevin curled into a ball with his back turned to them.

"My, aren't we cynical today?" River said in a dreary voice.

"Oh," judging by the sounds of swishing fabric and the laboured breathing, Mikey was throwing himself around dramatically. "Life's so difficult being…wait, _how_ old are you?"

"Sixteen. Piss off."

"Oi! Both of you, pack it in. Mikey, stop being a pest, and Kevin, stop using bad language!"

Kevin grunted, and tried to bury himself even deeper under the cushions and blankets Mel had neatly piled on the sofa a couple of hours ago.

Michelle had asked River, as a friend and authority figure, to house watch for the day; Gerald had been bullied into taking Tom, the twins and Kathy out for the day for 'family bonding'. Steph was in charge of her brother in the mean time, who had decided to stay down stairs and help Mel bake cakes that afternoon. Miley and Lea were house hunting, Taylor was floating around the market place down town selling…stuff, and River was in charge of the upstairs.

Kevin wanted to just remain unconscious until dinner, but he found that normal drugs like painkillers and sleeping pills didn't seem to work on him anymore. And Miley wasn't around to whip something up; River point blank refused to do it herself, worried she'd accidentally make him high or poison him. ("That would be a fine thing, oh look at my reference I sort of accidentally fed something nefarious to one of the kids in my care, but what the hey! Yeah, I kinda _like_ my job, see? You'll just have to wait.")

Ben wasn't around today, as he was plotting something with Max; something like a test for the rookies, which only Ben was allowed to be involved with. It was silly and immature and just plain _stupid_ for this to wind Kevin up. Good riddance to the prick! After he'd dragged himself home from that mission with the Luoadans, nursing his wounded pride, he'd avoided Ben as much as possible, since he seemed quite partial to his new transformation. Still, it wasn't like Ben being in on a project that Kevin was not, was a good enough excuse to feel this pissed off.

It was more than that, and Kevin knew it, but he didn't even want to think about it, in the childish hope that it would float away and leave him alone, instead of hanging like a thundercloud over his head.

Steph trudged back into the attic, kicked something, and stormed off again.

"Hey! That's _my_ guitar, bring it back here now." River said in her commanding voice. When Steph replied with a few curse words, River got to her feet and padded after her like an avenging angel, muttering darkly. Mikey questioned what she was saying, and Kevin sat up to see her expression.

River stood in the doorway, wearing a deep turquoise t-shirt with white wings inked onto the back, hair held back by the usual bandana, with fire in her eyes.

"I said Foxtrot Foxtrot _Sierra_. Don't mind me, I'm just out for her blood." And with that, she disappeared from sight.

"What _is_ it with everyone today?" Mikey sighed, turning the 360 off. "It's like everyone's pissed off for no reason,"

"No reason," Kevin scoffed, contemplating going for a drive to clear his head.

"So what's stung you in the arse?" Mikey challenged.

"Life's just…"

"Blargh?"

"Yeah. Go away,"

"Argh, _fine_." Mikey scuttled over to the computer. "I haven't emailed my mum in ages, she probably thinks I got eaten by a Galactic Howling Turnip or something."

That last comment dragged a genuine laugh from Kevin, and they both settled into their chosen task; Mikey contacting his parents, and Kevin trying to ignore reality.

More than Ben, along with Steph after they had ambushed him and his car with cans of whipped cream and squished strawberries yesterday evening, it was Gwen and her recent behaviour that had thrown Kevin. And it wasn't the usual 'oh its their time of the month pay no mind!' sort of behaviour either.

Gwen was…kinda distant recently, like her mind was totally focused else where, and she had no time for him anymore. Okay, so she had been right about Argit at the service station, and he was probably getting on her nerves with his constant stream of bad jokes throughout the journey (Ben wasn't helping and Steph and Mikey only made matters worse) but that didn't mean she could spurn him like that!

Man, he was so emotionally spoiled when it came to Gwen; she more or less _always_ dropped what she was doing for him, so when she went off him suddenly it came as a massive shock to his system. Why was she acting like this? Had he done something by accidentally to upset her?

Kevin was confident enough to pester River for help, but when he'd called her the other night with the intent of doing just that, she'd kept it short by saying Taylor needed her attention. The shock seemed to have worn off now, replaced with a flood of Biblical proportions, and River wouldn't drop her boyfriend in favour of a problematic teenager. She obviously hadn't said that, she'd been far more sympathetic, but Kevin knew the lay of the land.

Just as he was about to say screw it and go find her anyway, and screw Steph and her bloody shenanigans if she was still floating around, but that plan was blown out of the water when he heard the patter of small feet, and something tugged at the blanket that had tangled itself around Kevin's foot. Glad he was wearing the mask, Kevin looked up to see Steph's youngest brother looking up at him wide eyed.

Kev was small for his five years, with darkened skin like Gerald's, and chocolate brown hair that was falling across dark hazel eyes. He was all right, for five-year-old Kevin guessed… The expectant look in his eyes was creeping him out.

"Kevin?" he asked tentatively.

"Yeah?" Kevin was wary now. The things Mel said he came out with at times…like the Walking With Dinosaurs episode about the long necked dinosaurs and mating season…that was something that had River rolling every time it was mentioned.

"You do biolo…bio…biolology, like Steph does?"

Kevin turned desperately to Mikey for support, but he had plugged himself into you tube and was listening to music as he typed, completely oblivious to his plight.

"Err, yeah I do."

"Mel said that River's having a baby." Kev frowned.

Oh God oh God this was _not_ happening! Kevin would have run away if the option was open to him, but sadly it wasn't. Coughing loudly, he nodded and said, "Yeah, she is."

"Why?"

Good question well asked.

"Umm…"

"I don't get it," Kev parked himself on the end of the sofa uninvited, and Kevin didn't have the heart to push him away the same way he would with his sister; he was just so small and vulnerable and not used to his unique way of showing inadvertent love… "How is she having a baby? Dylan said they come from a stalk, but birds lay eggs, and people don't."

Kevin was about to make a smart remark about Steph being part Avis, but she wouldn't be the only one after his blood if he upset Kev. So he shrugged instead, and Kev looked up eagerly in his quest for knowledge.

"And you're really smart, so I thought you'd know."

"Well…" crap! What should he do? Argh!

"Is it like, you need a mommy and a daddy? Like _my_ mom and dad?"

"Yeah, kinda. Its when a man and woman love each other very much." Kevin wanted to curl up in a hole and get swallowed up by the ground.

"But _how_ do you get a baby?" Kev was getting frustrated. "I remember seeing a lady at the mall with a fat tummy, and my mom said she was pregnant, and that meant she was having a baby. But River's not fat! Why is she having a baby and not really fat?"

Kevin could have kissed River when she came back into the room. It took about three seconds to see the distress in his face and Kev's aggravated expression, and put the two together.

"Kev, some here," she said, crouching down at the edge of the beanbag pool so they would be at the same height. He obediently got up and scampered over to her, taking her proffered hand and swinging it back and forth in that way kids do when they're thinking deeply. "What's the matter?"

"Kevin can't tell me something," he said sullenly.

Kevin wanted to hide from the world and reality in general, but he was curious to see how River handled this. It would be good for future reference.

"Why? Is he keeping a secret from you?"

"No." Kev sniffed disdainfully. "I think he doesn't know either."

Kevin suppressed a snort of laughter. He'd spent a couple of years hanging round the Null Void, and had a very broad secondary education in these matters, thank you _very_ much! Only he couldn't tell that to a five year old.

"Oh?" River's evil smile made him scowl. "What do you want to know?"

"Well…_Mel_ said that you're having a baby." He paused, gauging her reaction.

River smiled brilliantly, and her free hand reflexively moved to stroke the bump that was slowly becoming more prominent. "Yes, I am."

"But how did that happen? Where did you get it from? And why aren't you fat?" River gave Kevin an amused look over the top of his head as the flood of questions kept flowing. "Don't you need a daddy for that? Dylan said that stalks bring babies to their moms, but _my_ mom said the fat lady at the mall was pregnant." He looked at her suspiciously, as though she were pulling his leg. "_You're_ not fat." He said accusingly.

"Kev," River got onto her hands and knees, crawling to the largest beanbag and settling into a comfortable position, from which Kevin could see her face. "Come here, honey."

"Why is everyone saying different things? Mel said that Steph and Kevin do biolology, but they can't tell me anything!" Kev looked severely hacked off at the thought as he sat beside River. "Stupid idiots…" he sulked.

"That's not a very nice thing to say about people, especially your sister," River said smoothly and calmly.

How could she be calm in a conversation like this? And why was she preaching the exact opposite of what she did every single day to Kevin and Steph _and_ the others?

"Sorry," Kev blushed at being chastised.

"It's all right. So, what do you want to know?"

"If you're having a baby, why aren't you fat?"

Kevin couldn't help it, he laughed at Kev's innocent face and careless words.

River shot him a death glare that stifled any further outburst to the pit of his stomach, possibly cracking a couple of ribs while he was at it, before she spoke. "Well, I'll have to go back to the beginning for it to make sense."

"So there's a bird involved?" Kev asked dubiously.

"Forget what Dylan says. You know he's only trying to wind you up," she tipped him a huge wink, before leaning down to whisper in his ear, making him giggle. "So! When a man and a woman love each other a lot, sometimes they want to have a family of their own, so the decide to have a baby."

"Right," Kev frowned, trying to copy Steph's thoughtful expression that she wore when she was solving a problem. "What about gay people like Uncle Ralph?"

That was something Steph had mentioned once, about Gerald's cousin, but she hadn't lingered on it. According to Mel they didn't get along very well.

"To have a baby, you need a man and a woman. What happens is you take a little bit of each of them to make the baby. That's why you look like your daddy and your mommy, and how Steph's blonde like your mom but she's very tall like Uncle Ian."

"_Oh_," Kev breathed, and nodded vigorously. "I get it! So when you get the bits together," Kevin cringed at the endless possibility for innuendo, "what happens next?"

"Well, you take a single cell from each parent, and when they're put together they start to split in half so there are move of them, and eventually you have enough to make a person. Cells are very, _very_ small things you can't see with the naked eye."

Kev giggled. "You said naked," he pointed and laughed.

Kevin tried again to bury himself, only causing the cushions to fall off the sofa and blow his cover entirely.

"What I mean by naked eye," River said, smiling with humour dancing in her eyes. "Is that you need a microscope to see them."

"That's a funny way of saying it."

She shrugged. "That's just the way people say it. So when you have enough cells they started to grow into a person."

"What, like a plant?" Kev said dubiously.

"Yes, like a plant."

"Do they grow in pots?"

"No," River laughed, making him bow his head in shame. "Oh Kev," she put a hand under his chin and lifted his face to meet her gaze. "I've got a lot of biology smarts I've collected over many years. You've only been alive for five,"

"Six! Almost…"

"So it's funny when you say things like that. I'm not laughing at you," she promised.

"So how _does_ it grow?" he pressed.

Kevin found himself listening intently as well, not really knowing why.

"Inside the mommy's tummy." River pointed at her belly. "That's why a lady looks fat when she's pregnant, because she has a little person inside her."

"So how come you're not really fat?"

"Because it takes nine months to make a person, and they have to grow from the size of a full stop on a page to this," she demonstrated with her hands, showing the difference in size from conception to birth. "So in a few months time I'll get much bigger."

"Woah," Kev looked at her in awe, before finding something else to bug her with. "Who's the person you love very _very_ much that gave you your baby?"

"Taylor."

"Wow. Dad says that you should wait until you're at least thirty to have a family."

"Your dad's a very sensible man,"

"Taylor must love you _loads _if he gave you a baby before you turned thirty,"

Kevin met River's gaze over the top of Kev's head, and he had to look away before he started laughing. It was the crooked angle of her raised eyebrow, the tilted set to her mouth that was wrought in irony, that made the situation so hilariously funny – even more so when Kevin wasn't the one suffering the Spanish Inquisition.

"Yes, he does love me. Very much so," and there was that soppy romantic smile that softened the humorous moment.

"But River," Kev looked up at her again and she focused her attention on him. "I get what happens to make a baby and that you need a man and a lady, but there's one thing I don't get." He paused, whether for intentional dramatic effect or not, Kevin couldn't work out. "Where does that happen?"

"Inside the mommy's tummy."

"What, does the dad put the two bits together and give it to her to eat or something?"

Even River couldn't keep her composure at that remark, and she doubled over in fits of laughter. Kevin joined in, eyes watering as he tried to calm himself down, met River's gaze, and fell back into paroxysms of hilarity.

"Oi, oi," Mikey unplugged himself to turn and look at them all. "What's so funny then?" he smiled pleasantly, but a small frown creased his forehead in confusion.

"Oh Kev," River squeezed the boy tightly against her size, stroking his hair and fussing over him like an over indulgent aunt. "Don't ever change…"

"I got it wrong, didn't I?"

Kevin was mildly freaked out when he started crying.

"Oh, no, Kev," River lifted him from the edge of the beanbag and tucked him into her lap, where he clung to her shirt, sobbing loudly. "We weren't laughing at you, sweetheart. It's just you say the funniest things! Here," she whipped a tissue out of her pocket and wiped his tears away. "There's no shame in not knowing something. Yeah?" he nodded, rubbing his eyes and keeping his gaze fixed on the floor. "You should only be ashamed of not being willing to learn. And it's a good thing you ask so many questions. It's easy for me to sit here and laugh at you when I've had years to learn these things. It's all right to not know things."

After a couple of minutes, Kev pushed her away and rubbed his eyes again. His lip trembled for a moment and he shook his head to disband the thoughts that were trying to settle.

"Better now?"

He nodded jerkily, still upset.

"Do you want to go help Mel finish making the cakes?"

Kev stood up and scurried off to the stairs without a backwards glance. The moment he was out of earshot Kevin started laughing again.

"And you kept a straight face…" he gasped for air.

"You weren't helping!" River pointed accusingly, laughing herself. "All those faces you were pulling…but eating the…God," she put a hand over her mouth and fell back onto the beanbag, giggling. "That was just the last straw…"

"What's all this?" Mikey jumped into the sea of cushions to join in. "I was busy emailing my Ma. Tell me!" he shook River, playfully demanding.

Steph jumped into the room, and dive-bombed the edge of the sofa.

"Hey! That's my foot," Kevin kicked her.

"Boo-hoo. Riv, what the bloody hell did you do to my brother?" she demanded.

River retold what had just happened to both of them, and the four of them rolled around laughing for a bit before Mel came upstairs with the cooled cakes. Kev clung to her leg, watching River warily as he shuffled after his older sister.

"You avoiding me?" she said playfully.

Kev shook his head vehemently. "No." he huffed.

"Come here," she held out an arm, and he grudgingly burrowed into her side, glaring sullenly at Mel's feet as she handed out cakes.

"Kevin?"

"Please!" he eat it in one mouthful.

"Bloody hell!" Steph protested, before wincing as River leant over and landed a warning punch on her knee, ire dancing in her eyes. "How do you…flipping well _do_ that?"

"Wha…?" he said through a thick mouthful of delicious cake.

"That! Eat in one go. You're worse then Ben and his fudging pickles,"

River gave Steph a sour look before opening up a discarded puzzle book and saying, "Kev, can you help me find Wally in this picture?"

"Check you out and your abbreviations," Mikey sniggered, eating his cake far more daintily.

"Classy." Kevin said, swallowing his food and gasping for a moment when it got stuck in his throat.

"Your own bleeding fault." Steph smirked, ignoring the daggers River threw at her, and the disapproving aura that Mel exuded despite her smooth expression.

"Watch it," Mikey murmured, taking another cupcake before the others could deprive him of food.

"What?" Steph said through a mouthful of cake.

"Lovely," River said, nose wrinkling in disgust.

"At least _I_ chew," Steph said snidely.

"Steph," Kev turned round and said defiantly in a grown up voice, "Mom always tells you that we don't want to see your cement mixer while you're eating. Please put it away,"

River laughed, and hugged him. "Yeah, you tell her, Kev!"

"Ha!" Kevin sniggered. "Steph got told. By a _five _year old!"

"Ooooooooohhh!" Mikey said laughing.

"Screw you," she snapped.

River and Mel both cleared their throats at the same time, very loudly.

"Would it help is I sang a song?" Mikey chipped in. when no one said otherwise, he stood up, daintily coughed "Ahem," and began to sing. "Bread of heaven, _bread_ of heeeaaaaaaven-!"

"You're Irish, not Welsh. What the hell? Get your bloody anthem right,"

"Enough!" River said loudly. "Steph, go away."

"Huh?"

"We've had enough of you and your bad language." She said pointedly, adding soundlessly 'Delicate ears!' pointing at Kev.

"But I live here-!" Steph protested.

"You are quite within you rights to speak like that," Mel said gently, blunting the blow which made it hurt all the more. "But not in front of young children."

"But he lives with Dylan! He's gonna learn _some_day, and-!"

"Out!" River said loudly, pointing at the door.

"You can't kick me out of my own room!" Steph shrieked.

"Move it or lose it. Kevin," River nodded to him. "Remove it from the room, if you please."

"Right-o!" Kevin sprang to his feet, saluted, and proceeded to bundle her to the door.

"Get- off me! You… gah! Hey! You – _bastard_ -!"

"Oi!" River shouted after them.

Steph spun round, throwing Kevin off at the lower landing, and he ran for it, laughing like an idiot.

"Get back here!"

Kevin almost made it to the front door, but Steph tackled him from behind and they crashed to the floor loudly. Mikey bounded up behind them, giggling like a girl.

"Wanna go smoothie?" he said, tugging Kevin off Steph. "I'm _thirsty_!"

"All right," Steph dusted herself off and felt for her keys. "I'll drive,"

Her rusty red jeep was a bit like the Rust Bucket: it just never seemed to die, no matter how many times it passed out, it always came back to haunt its detesters. Plus, it was quite comfortable inside; the worn leather seats, the over flowing glove compartment, and the scent that was fused to every facet of the vehicle. It was spicy and warm, like cinnamon and herbs, and kind of like Steph herself; warm and fiery, and unpredictable.

"Why do you keep this crap?" Mikey demanded, trying to jam the glove compartment shut.

"Because I need those hand books. And _I_," she said accusingly, leaning across Kevin to poke Mikey in the ribs at a red light, "unlike some people am working for a degree! So shove _that_ in your pipe and smoke it."

"Hey! I'm working," Mikey snapped. "If I do enough time working on the ground I can get into the elite academy. I'm not going back to England for Uni!"

"Why not?" Kevin asked, finding an unopened bottle of soda under the passenger seat. "This still good?"

"Yeah. Just don't open it in here,"

"Because the government, in their infinite wisdom!" Mikey scowled. "Decided that to sort out the economic crisis they would take the cap off university fees so they trebled, meaning that most people will be repaying their debts until they're in their forties. Thus crippling that generation and making it nigh impossible to pass anything on to the next, while bleeding the older generations dry." Mikey went into a rant about the Labour Party, spitting blood as he went.

Kevin turned to Steph for a balanced argument.

She shrugged vaguely, throwing the jeep into gear and zipping down the road. "Let's see… Blair was a weasel, Brown was a disaster waiting to happen and we're all sick of him, Cameron looks like a clown without the makeup, and Clegg was a beacon of hope to the students of today until he agreed to the cap being raised and suddenly everyone hates him."

"What about the opposition?" Kevin pressed.

"That _is_ the opposition. People don't know who to trust anymore, so we got a hung parliament. I personally would have voted the English Democrat Party because they seem to have their heart in the right place, being in their chest and not their arse, and I knew someone who had a connection with their leader and he's actually a decent guy."

"And _they're_ so great because…?" Kevin asked in a bored voice, yawning while Mikey glared at the handbook that was hanging from the glove compartment.

"There's a Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, and the Northern Ireland Assembly. All under the influence of the Parliament of The United Kingdom, but able to act independently for the sake of the people under its jurisdiction. England is under the thumb of the UK's government: we don't _have_ a separate one, so the English suffer all the bullshit the MPs push through. So the argument is to have an English Parliament that's separate from that of the United Kingdom."

Kevin snorted, pushing Mikey through the door as Steph pulled into the parking lot at Mr Smoothies. "Not very _united_ are you?"

"Basically the only thing we have in common are geographical location," she ticked them off on her fingers as she went. "Common language, most of the time…I mean, come on!"

Kevin sniggered as she ranted all the way up to the counter.

"Even the Cornish have their own language! They even consider themselves separate from England! Some of them do anyway…"

"Face it, the only reason we're united is because we come under one flag that ignores Northern Ireland, and we're a kingdom because we still have a monarch." Mikey said, inspecting his smoothie closely while Steph paid. "The Union Jack doesn't really feature Northern Ireland. Or _Ire_."

"Who?" Kevin asked, puzzled.

"Ire. It's what the Irish call the Republic of Ireland. At least to the tourists backs they do…"

"Yeah. The English are gits really…" Steph said thoughtfully, drinking her smoothie. They settled down at a bench before she continued. "And we owe that to our Navy, really. Which has basically been stripped of everything it is in recent years." Her eyes narrowed dangerously on a shrub near by at the edge of the parking lot. "You should hear the things River has to say about that, as she's from a Naval family. Almost but not _quite_ literally spitting blood."

"Oh God…" Mikey giggled. "Earlier with Kev and the…ha! So funny,"

"Yes," Steph smirked. "She has a way with words. You should have heard the things Eddie said," she laughed loudly.

"Eddie being her godson?" Kevin verified.

"Yeah, _that_ one." Steph nodded. "She pulled a very serious face," she demonstrated, gesturing with her hand to emphasise the seriousness of her face. And my, wasn't it _very_ serious. "And said unflinchingly,"

"Oh get on with it," Mikey snapped.

"When a mummy and daddy love each other very much and want a baby, they hug in a special way,"

Kevin nearly choked on his drink trying not to laugh. Mikey thumped him on the back, laughing as well.

"A way with words, indeed." He said knowingly.

"You remember that diagram Hughsie showed us in year seven?" Steph said, poking Mikey in the side of the head.

"What, the one that shows how smexy time works?"

Kevin nearly choked again. "_What_?"

"It was this diagram, for a slow introduction into sex education." Steph was fighting to keep the grin from her face, eyes bright with mischief. "It's like a cross section of two people in the act of professing their physical love for each other, and,"

"I'm gonna be sick," Mikey announced to the world.

"Shut up, I'm telling a story!"

"I'm traumatised," Kevin pitched in.

"Shut up, no you're not. Listen!" she whined until they both turned their undivided attention on her. "_Thank_ you! Now then, all it shows is the man bit in the female bit,"

"How very unsophisticated and unscientific." Mikey said in a bored voice. "And after that performance in the attic with curse words in front of your little brother, its pathetic."

Steph took a deep breath through the nose, drawing herself up to her full and considerable height before graphically describing the process of sexual intercourse loudly with many expletives. Kevin was going to wet himself sooner or later, especially after she used to forgotten bottle of soda as an example.

"So basically," she said eventually, after Mikey had slumped from his seat, wheezing that his ribs were all broken. "This diagram suggests that the act of making love centres on the fact that he just sits there and does nothing, and magically the sperm find the egg. Because you can't tell an eleven year old about foreplay, masturbation or technique,"

Mikey swore at her, whacking her smartly over the head with the soda bottle, the pressure rapidly increasing. "I'd love to see you go to a posh girl's prep school here and give them your Pompey Sex Ed. Talk. Poor kids wouldn't know what hit them!"

"Neither would poor Lizzie Brooks," Steph said, pulling a face. "She asked the teacher, _quote her_, 'but sir, doesn't the guy have to do something or does he just sit there? Don't they like talk to each other or something?' I rest my case!"

Kevin beat his hand on the tabletop, shaking with laughter.

"They need to rethink Sex Education!"

"No, I think you're just reading too much into it." Mikey shook his head. "Dear oh dear…"

"Well, it doesn't matter now much anyway."

"Why not?" Kevin asked.

"The age of consent in the UK is sixteen. I was legal till I came over here, then suddenly oh no! you can't do _that_ to someone, you have to wait another two years!" Steph dropped her hand from wildly gesturing in the air and looked bored. "That's just so weird…"

"Not like _you've_ ever slept with anyone," Kevin teased.

"Nope," she shrugged. "Never felt the urge to get into bed with someone. In _that_ sense," she snapped as Mikey started giggling again. "Plus I think Gerald, _and_ my dad would kill them. Anyways, I have my _whooollle_ life ahead of me! I'm sure Mr. Right will float on down at some point…"

"What about you?" Kevin turned to Mikey, who looked suddenly sheepish.

"Well, _no_, but I went on a camping trip to Dorset and we all got completely rat arsed. And then a week later – mind you, _I_ don't know if this is true because the whole night is a complete blur – but this one girl who's massively clingy and needy and manipulative and nasty and _ew_ was going around telling everyone should performed sexual favours for me,"

Kevin blinked in astonishment.

"And I was going around after her denying this because I wouldn't in my right mind want that bitch _anyway_, but because none of us actually remember what happened that night…" he pulled a face and shivered. "Oh God I hope I didn't…ugh, I think I might actually be sick…"

"Oh, I actually found out from Danny Sinhar a few months ago that he was with her that night because she was – you _are _talking about Matilda Johns, aren't you? Good. Well, Danny was looking after her because she was puking her guts up and was in mild danger of choking or dehydrating or whatever. Ha! Suckers, I'm Avis so _nerr_! Anyways, he sat up all night with her in her tent making sure she was all right. So she couldn't have done anything to you."

"Oh thank you!" Mikey threw his head back to face the twilit sky. "There is a God!"

"See?" Steph punched his shoulder. "It's all right! Your virtue is still safe."

"Why am I friend's with you again?" Kevin asked, shaking his head, unable to stop his thoughts trailing along the lines of their conversation in Gwen's direction, making his cheeks burn.

"Because we're awesome and British?" Steph supplied.

They both turned to Mikey for his comment, but he was staring off into the distance. "I just wish I knew why I woke up with the painted wooden duck in my sleeping bag…"

"Why didn't you ever invite _me_ to your Havant dos?" Steph whined.

"Cause you stayed at SGC! I went to Havant, you wouldn't fit in there!"

"Bitch," she snarled.

Kevin was about to point and laugh and start throwing insults, when someone whipped his smoothie away form him. As he turned to clobber the person in question, he saw it was Ben, with a huge grin on his face.

"Oh no…" he groaned. "Piss off, I don't even want to know…"

"Hi guys!" Ben finished the smoothie off and dumped the cup in his lap. "Hey Steph,"

"Oh dear God what does it _want_ from me?"

"I have a favour to ask."

"Shit. I mean shoot. Both! What is it?"

"So," Ben slid onto the bench and pushed Kevin out of his way as he started laying plans. "Grandpa Max needs me to help him with the test for the rookies to see if they're ready for Plumbers Academy. But I don't think I could pull this off on my own. Would you help me out?"

"Sure thing! As long as I don't get eaten by blobs."

"No worries!" Ben grinned, waving the worry away. "What we're gonna do is make it look like I'm attacking Grandpa, and then they'll come running to see what's wrong, and then you can be all like 'omg he tried to kill me blah please help me!' and make it more believable."

"I am so in!" Steph squealed with glee. "I have a legit reason to smash your face in! Whhheeeeee!"

"I am actually going to throw up now," Mikey said, bored.

"Go do it then," Kevin snapped, his foul mood returning in full force.

"Well, I'd better get going. I got a match tomorrow!" Ben got up and walked away with a spring in his step.

Kevin wanted to smash something, but Steph broke into his thoughts by throwing the bottle of soda at him. He jumped, and glowered at her until she looked very deliberately from the bottle, to Ben's slowly retreating back, and then at Kevin's face.

Smiling sweetly, Kevin turned in his seat and called, "Hey, Ben!"

"Wassup?" he said, turning round and retracing his footsteps.

"Here, have a soda. You earned it buddy!"

Mikey cringed at the term _buddy_, and Steph only just managed to hide her smirk.

"Thanks Kevin!" Ben said, stilling grinning. "It's great we all get along together now, isn't it? We make the best team," he would have gone on with the sentimental crap, but he chose that moment to unscrew the lid, and the shaken liquid exploded forth in a frothy spray of bubbles, soaking everything in its path.

"Haha!" Steph jumped to her feet, pointing and laughing before running for the jeep. "Retreat!"

Kevin barrelled after her, throwing himself into the passenger seat as Ben hurled the bottle at them in anger, yelling profanities as they withdrew. Looking in the mirror, Kevin watched as Ben, in frustration, kicked the bottle; he caught the neck with his toes, kicking the lid off so the rest of the bottle disgorged its contents all over his feet.

They were laughing so hard it was a wonder Steph didn't crash the car on her way home.

XOXOX

Taylor felt a whole lot better today; he'd spent the last couple of nights sobbing his heart out, and now he felt a whole lot better for it, especially when he swung by the Smith-Tanner's house to collect River and found her waiting for him with a chocolate muffin made fresh that afternoon, and Kev's latest story to tell. That, coupled with the fact that he'd made a lot of money that day, and helped an old man find his wallet, and return a lost kid back to their distraught mother, he felt it had been worth dragging himself out of bed for.

"I gave you a baby," he laughed over his cake. "And you ate it. You heartless, cruel witch!"

"Oh, she's in there," River poked her belly. "Aren't you, lumpy?" they both giggled like little schoolgirls.

"Is it too early to talk to the bump yet?" he asked. They were sitting on the sofa in the attic, watching a dubbed version of River's favourite BBC programme, _QI_ with Stephen Fry.

"No! Isn't that right, sweetheart?" she over emphasised the fact she was talking exclusively to their little girl. "Mommy loves you! Yes she does," she looked up at Taylor, and wrinkled her nose in mock distaste. "I suppose your father does too. Hey-!"

Taylor tackled her into the sofa. "Daddy loves you! Very much," he rubbed his cheek against her bump, knowing his child was there, separated from him by a thin wall of flesh and muscles.

"Okay, get off me now."

"No! I like it," he pouted.

"It's hurting my spine," River dropped he teasing tone, and he helped her sit up at once. "Sorry," she winced, running a hand over the base of her spine. "I'd love to lie around all evening like that but it hurts."

"Okay," it didn't faze him. There would be plenty of bump bonding time later, when she was bigger and more active and he could do the whole running the hands over it thing and feel her kicking and moving. "Ah!" he was about to explode with happiness. "I'm so excited!"

"Calm down," River said soothingly, pushing him back into the sofa. "It's been a long and exciting day by the sounds of it. Let's just have one quiet night in, shall we? We can rent a movie, eat popcorn and drink from cans like slobs…"

Taylor liked that idea very much, so they packed up and went to say goodbye to Mel before Kathy came back and started asking awkward questions, since Kev would go and talk to the twins about his conversation about babies today, and they would report back to Kathy (inadvertently) and the River would be in trouble. Only because Kathy was a stuck up bitch but yeah…

They were standing in the hallway while Taylor laced up his shoe, when the front door burst open and Steph staggered in, followed by Kevin, both breathless with laughter.

"Oh no," River collapsed against the wall dramatically, eyes sparking with humour. "What did you two do _now_?"

"Ha!" Steph slapped her thigh loudly and proclaimed, "Ben got told." She paused for effect. "By a soda bottle!" they both collapsed into each other's arms for mutual support, all but wetting themselves.

"Bully for Ben," Taylor was eager to have River all to himself for the rest of the evening, and tried to chivvy her along once his shoes were in place.

"Wait a minute," she frowned, turning back to them as he tried to pull her over the threshold. "Wasn't there one more idiot in this trio when you left?"

Kevin and Steph looked from her to each other, and back again, before looking at each other in horror.

"Shit!"

"We left Mikey behind!"

"Come one," Taylor dragged her out to his jeep and threw her into the passenger seat. "I'm sure he'll live. Besides, it's not like they're gonna win a 'Friend of The Year' award, is it?" he started the car up and pulled onto the road.

"Well," River folded her arms over her chest, watching the brilliant orange sky slowly retreat after the sun down the horizon. "At least they were remorseful about it."

Taylor stopped at the stop sign, as was custom and legal, and let his head fall onto the steering wheel, blaring the horn.

"Jesus!" River jumped out of her skin.

"Oh come off it! That didn't scare you,"

"My heart is pounding right now," she said conversationally.

They bickered good naturedly on the way back to the farm, pausing at a set of traffic lights and spotting Mikey stalking back the way they had come, soaking wet and holding an empty plastic bottle.

"Should we give him a lift?" Taylor asked.

"Um…" River inwardly debated with herself. "No. He needs the walk home to cool himself off."

"Yeah right," Taylor made a left and followed the road out the town towards the farm. "You're only saying that because you don't want any hassle tonight."

"There's that too," she said thoughtfully.

They stopped to tank up on gas and rent a movie. Taylor handled the fuel while River selected a movie and got some food. He complained when he saw it was a black and white film, but before he could say anything, she shoved a slice of spongy cake with thick pink frosting on the top.

"Tottenham Cake. And it's _The Young Frankenstein_. It's amazingly classic and funny. So," she pushed it into his hands and climbed into her seat. "Shut up and drive."

"Your wish is my command," he said sarcastically, packing up. Back inside the jeep and behind the wheel, she leant over and kissed his cheek. "Steph and Kevin are gonna pay for that, aren't they?" he said, amused by the memory of Mikey's scowl.

"Through the nose," River grinned.

"Still can't believe…eat a baby! Eww, that's like Vlad the Impaler…"

"Well, there _is_ the expression of bun in the oven,"

"No thanks, that's a human being in there, not a pastry." Taylor said sulkily.

"Imagine if things didn't change," she said suddenly, watching the trees slide past the windows. "We'd never have Butterflies."

"Or Christmas Trees."

"Or cake," she said wistfully.

"Or Frogs."

"This conversation ends here. Before I smack you,"

"You love it really," Taylor teased, unable to resist.

His ear was still smarting when he stopped the car.

XOXOX

**Wow. That went on longer than I thought xD I kept thinking I'd make a nice **_**shorter**_** chapter but no, it had to drag on like that! :)**

**I hope that I managed to lighten the mood or make someone smile, its been a terrible week so far for too many people to count. I hope they manage to rescue as many people as they can in Christchurch, and I hope that Libya manages to get through this turmoil with as little blood shed as possible.**

**And I'd also like to thank Dwayne McDuffie for giving us Ben 10 Alien Force; we all moaned about it at some point, but you have to hand it to him, he wrote amazing stories for the original age group of Ben 10, and managed to get even much older people interested and entertained us.**

**Here's hoping that there will be better news to share the rest of this week,**

**xxx**


	33. Time Heals

**AN: I wanted this to go in a different direction, but by the time I finished writing it was too long for what I wanted to finish with xD so I'll follow that up in the next chapter. I've been looking back over earlier chapters, and I realised I have a lot of loose ends to tie up, and I have a plan for that! :D it'll just take a few more chapters :)**

**Anyways, I apologise for the title :S I decided to crib for today because I couldn't think of any other excuse xD**

**Enjoy!**

_**Time Heals**_

River was sitting in her preferred seat in the workshop, throwing a borrowed tennis ball against the wall and catching it on the rebound, periodically stopping to pull a bundle of fluff from to faded material. It thumped rhythmically against the concrete wall and her waiting hands, creating a background beat to the sounds in the room.

Taylor was tempted to throw the damn ball into the garbage, but the unhappy set of her mouth, and the crease between her eyebrows out him off confronting her for quite a while.

Lea was working on his bike, after Mikey had borrowed it because his was on the blink, and it had accidentally been mauled by a pack of…alien, weird things with horns… Taylor didn't even know, and he was starting to stop caring. Lea was plugged into his MP3 player, ignoring everyone else around him, glowering at the tools in his hands as though they were the ones at fault. Miley had been round earlier, but she had swanned off to attend a course on some weird form of CPR.

River should, in theory, be going on a course of her own in Paris, but it had been called off due to a mix up in times and dates. So she was sat there, with a mountain of paperwork at her side, completely untouched, throwing a tennis ball at the wall.

"You know," he said eventually, giving up on the wood in his hands when it splintered in half for the fifth time. "You could get RSI from doing that?"

"Oh well," she didn't even look up at him.

Taylor bided his time, weighing the wood up in his hand, watching the pattern her hand made as it threw and caught the ball over and over again. Watching intently, he drew back his own hand and threw the wood at the right moment to intercept the ball, both of them flying off to the left and landing on the floor where they rolled away uselessly, leaving him open to River's disapproval.

"I was _throwing_ that," she said irritably, narrowing her eyes at the pile of paper by her elbow.

"What's your problem? You've been moping all day. It's getting late and we'll be eating dinner soon!"

"Maybe cause I feel crap? And the fact that," she rounded on him, eyes blazing. "I can't go five minutes without _some_one asking me 'Are you alright? You look rough. Is something wrong? Can I help you?' Gah!" she kicked the table leg forcefully. "It's getting on my nerves, you lot bloody well harping on at me!"

"Okay," Taylor dumped his work and turned to face her unflinchingly. "What's eating you?"

"Eating me? Nothing, nothing at all! Why shouldn't I be pissed off when I get dragged into court cases that shouldn't involve me, or maybe the fact that I _should_ be trying to fore fill my position to the specified requirements that I've been given which are completely _stupid_ anyway. Or better yet, the fact that I can't stand being around Mel at the moment cause she's going on and on and _on_ at me and I'm sick of being told what I should be doing!"

This was nothing personal; this was just a hormonal outburst. Taylor sat back and let her vent her frustration, until she was spent and had to pause to draw breath.

"So what's Mel bugging you about?"

River struggled for and moment, before sighing in defeat, seeing that he wouldn't let this drop. "Kevin. You, know, she's been going on at me about how she's thinks I'm his spirit guide…"

"What do you think?"

"Well…" she slumped back in her seat, eyes cast to the ceiling as thought the words she was looking for were written there. "Remember how I said I felt like I _had_ to come down here?"

"Yeah." Taylor nodded, remembering. "I thought you'd sorted that out,"

"No. I've only just scratched the surface…" She slumped forward against the table. "Argh…I didn't know I could care for someone like this. I mean, besides you and my family…"

Taylor pushed his chair closer to her, and slid an arm around her shoulders. "Don't you think that maybe you read too much into these things?" He asked. "I mean, like you pointed out before, because you don't know your biological family, you treat everyone close to you the same, as though they _are_ your family."

River shrugged, staring at the opposite wall. Taylor leant over and took her chin gently in his hand, making her look him in the eye.

"That's the way I see it, anyway. You don't really make the distinction the same way most people do."

"Because that's just the way I am. Blood counts very little for me. That's how I was brought up."

"So basically, you're only attached to the kid because you don't make a distinction between friend and family."

"It's not like that. It's like…like I _have_ to be around. It's like having my little brother, or my godson around. Sure," she looked away, gesturing with her hand. "He can take care of himself by and large, but I still freak out every time they all go off to fight some alien bad guy or whatever."

"Because you're too sensitive and caring for your own good," Taylor leant to one side, sighing dramatically. "Strong maternal instincts. You just attach to every lost soul you can find."

"No I don't," she muttered sullenly.

"You so do! Look, I'm sure he's fine. Anyway, _we_ have stuff to do ourselves. Surely you can take a few months off so we can deal with our own problems?"

"But then I'll literally have a few days before maternity leave," River frowned. "And, much as it pisses you off, I still feel I have a duty to these guys. I'm still their agony aunt."

"It more than pisses me off when you're constantly putting them first, when you're not the _only_ one that's being neglected." Taylor didn't quite snap, but his voice was hard.

"I'm over the shock now. I just keep forgetting she's in here…"

"_Any _excuse," Taylor grumbled, sitting back in his seat as Kevin walked into the workshop.

He chucked his mask onto the sideboard, grabbed a tool box and a…thing, and joined them at the table.

"Oh dear," River swept her paperwork completely out of the way and focused her attention on Kevin. "Wassup?"

"Day from hell," he snarled, stabbing the box with a screwdriver.

Taylor tried not to huff, or say 'I told you so!' and settled instead on eavesdropping while River 'attended' to her 'duties'.

"Wanna talk about it?" she said gently.

Kevin went off on a tangent, ranting about how everyone in the world was an idiot and how he wanted to strangle Ben and everyone at school could go to hell, and a number of expletives that put even Steph to shame. Once he was done, and he'd thrown a wrench at the wall, he folded his arms like a little kid and glowered at the wall River had been giving evils most of the afternoon.

"Ah," River patted him on the shoulder. "Shit day. Fancy some fudge?" she took what remained of the peace offering Taylor had brought down with him.

"No," he snapped.

"Fair enough. Taylor?" she said through a mouthful, holding out the packet.

"Go on then," he sighed, taking a piece. "I'll have to make more sometime," he mused out loud.

After ten minutes, he went back to work, and not long after that, River gently started prodding Kevin for more information.

"You didn't quite get everything off your chest."

"So?" he snarled at her.

"Want to tell me?"

"No."

Taylor wanted to cuff him round the side of the head for speaking to River like that, but it would achieve nothing, except possibly breaking his own hand…

"If you're sure," River shrugged, and went to her paperwork. Sure, _now_ she started doing something productive…

"Can you not say anything?" he said suddenly.

Taylor felt Kevin's gaze, and looked up to meet his eyes. River nodded, unsmiling and serious. "What's said at the table _stays_ at the table," she shot Lea a furtive look, but he was badly playing air guitar singing _Yellow Submarine_ loudly and out of tune. River turned to Taylor, who nodded and made a show of zipping his lips.

Kevin's sudden change of heart had taken Taylor by surprise.

"It's Gwen." He admitted.

"Okay. What's troubling you?"

"She's been acting really…"

"Odd? Weird? Psychotic?" Taylor supplied before River planted her fist in his gut. Too bad he couldn't return the favour…

"Shut up."

"Really off… She's up to something, and she hasn't told any of us. I'm kinda worried,"

"She has been a bit distant the last two days, I'll give you that."

"But she's been really cranky," Kevin insisted. "She keeps snapping at me for no reason,"

"That might just be PMT." Taylor informed the younger boy. "It's a bitch."

"Shush." River told him. "Maybe she's just having a rough patch at school. I keep telling her that boys are problematic and all, but the truth is, girls don't know what they're thinking half the time either at your age."

"I tried talking to her last night." Kevin said dejectedly.

Taylor felt sorry for him; he knew how that felt. River was, in some respects, worse than some of his ex's, but at least with her it was a hormonal misfire in her brain, and most of the time unintentional. It was easier to handle when you knew it wasn't yours of their fault.

"What did _you_ say, and what did _she_ say?" River said evenly.

"I asked her why she was so cranky suddenly."

River and Taylor exchanged looks, and he cringed. "You need to be a bit more eloquent and sensitive than that."

"You're asking for your death warrant, dude." Taylor said gently.

"She told me to leave her alone." Kevin lamented. "She wouldn't tell me anything…"

"Okay, Kevin?" River put her hands on his shoulders, and he inclined his body in her direction. "It sounds to me like she just needs some space at the moment. Gwen's a smart girl, and she's also mature. If she was mad at you, she would have come out and said so. Just let her come to you in her own time. Yeah?"

"You're not making me feel better," he said accusingly, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Maybe this will," River had stowed her guitar under the table when they got here at lunchtime, and now she extracted it from its case. "Have fun," she handed it over before going back to her own work.

After a few menacing chords, Kevin mellowed out into a softer, more lilting tune and he became thoroughly absorbed in what he was doing.

"Better?" River said with a smile.

He sighed, and gave her a reluctant grin. "Yeah. Thanks,"

"Don't mention it!" she ruffled his hair. "Anytime, sweetheart."

Taylor got up to get drinks, banging the kettle around to make coffee and tea and chocolate. He jumped when River snuck up behind him and gave him a playful squeeze.

"Told you so," she said, grinning at him.

"Oh," Taylor pulled a face, slamming the tea mug down on the table. "_Bloody_ hell…"

River laughed, filling her canister with water from the tap and going back to her seat.

"Hey Kevin,"

"What?"

"Look at this profile," she picked it up and flicked through the pages. "Misunderstood soul or psychotic killer in waiting?" she held it up for inspection.

"That's a face for radio," he commented.

"I don't know…See, the court ruled he just needed psychiatric treatment to integrate him back into society, but reading this report makes me think he's better kept under lock and key, since it's unethical to enforce the death penalty in most cases."

"What makes you think that?" Kevin said, flicking through the papers himself.

"Well," River made a show of her next sentence. "I've only been qualified for a couple of years and I'm not the best in my field, but I thought the evidence of road kill in kitchen and the confession that he liked cutting it up into little pieces was a _dead give away_."

Kevin laughed, and Taylor rolled his eyes.

"Tasty,"

"Have a look at the photographic evidence," River turned a page for him.

"Eww!" Kevin complained loudly.

"Thank you! Ladies and gentleman, behold the power of the inadvertent test!"

"What!" Kevin looked deeply offended. "I'm not your Guinea Pig!"

"No, of course not!" River grinned, writing something down on a form. "I was merely running an inadvertent check on you to make sure you really are not psychotic, and I was right so ha in your face Plumber's Division of Psychological Testing you're all bastards."

"Oh _shut _up," Lea threw an oily cloth at her head.

"Gross!"

"River, baby." Taylor set a mug of hot chocolate in front of her and sat down, shaking his head. "You're such a bitch."

"Ain't I just?" she laughed, and then shrieked when Kevin poked her in the ribs.

"You're evil and mean and nasty and I _hate you_!" he whined, continuing to poke her.

"Get off me! Shoo! _Vamos,_" she put her hands over his face and pushed him away. "Sod off! Leave me alone! I was just doing my job, I swear! Taylor, _do_ something!"

"Mmm…nope." He leant back in his chair and cushioned his head with his hands. "You're on your own on this one."

"I'll get you for this," she muttered. "Ow! Watch the bump if I miscarry I will actually _kill_ you Kevin!"

"I didn't get the speed bump!"

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

"I have the fudge supply." Taylor said simply with a smile.

"I love you. But I don't _like _you right now." She snapped.

"Ah me," Lea came over; wiping his hands on another ragged cloth. "Young love. How very nice. Piss off. Oh, and Kevin? Steph was here earlier; they're all going round to Gwen's later to watch the game. Kathy is going to be out late tonight with Gerald, Michelle and Ian, so there's an open invitation to stay the night with us if you like." After his speech and turned on his heel and went back to his bike. "Introduce Mikey to the wonders of American football and tell him if this thing isn't running by tomorrow I'll have his blood in a silver syringe – that's all that's gonna be left by the time I'm finished with him."

River snorted. "Charming."

XOXOX

After having made sure Gwen's parents were out, chasing up Kevin and Mikey, and plucking Steph from the jaws of Kathy, Ben was champing at the bit to get inside and run up the popcorn machine.

Steph leant dramatically against the wall, yawning widely and wishing she was at home asleep instead of here with Ben.

Kevin pressed the doorbell for the third time, and no one replied.

Err, yeah Einstein, there were no cars around and the door was most probably _locked_ and they were all idiots, and so was Steph for letting them talk her into this.

"We're gonna miss the kick off!" Kevin complained.

"The car's not here," Ben said, eyes flickering to the vacant driveway.

"No shit, Sherlock," Steph snapped. _Why_?

Ben glared at her, before turning back to Kevin. "I don't think anyone's home,"

"What was your first clue?" Steph snarled.

"Oh lighten up, Steph!" Mikey clapped her on the back, grinning. "It's only American Football! We can sit and laugh at the players and how Welsh Rugby is better!" he gave her a stellar smile.

"Okay," Steph said, peeling his hand from her shoulder while Kevin kept pressing the doorbell. "Firstly, _get off me_. Secondly, you're Irish. Thirdly, piss off."

"You're gonna break it," Ben warned Kevin.

"Am not!" As he spoke, he pressed the button, and the things died with an electric fizzle. And a puff of smoke, which she thought was a nice touch.

Ben folded his arms over his chest, giving Kevin an irritated look.

"It was already loose!" he protested.

"Tee hee," Mikey snorted. "Sorry, sorry!" he giggled. "That was pretty funny…"

Steph smacked him round the side of the head. "Shut up."

"Well it was…" Mikey rubbed the sore spot on his scalp, still grinning like an idiot.

"What are you guys doing?"

Everyone except Steph jumped, and Mikey started laughing at Kevin's expression.

"Nothing. We weren't trying to break into your house,"

Mikey doubled over with laughter, eyes streaming. Gwen took out her house key and stuck it in the door.

"Hey, what's with the glasses?" Steph asked, looking over her shoulder at the book in her hands. "And the trench coat? And the Hogwarts spell book?"

"And the doorbell was broken when we got here," Kevin added.

"You know what?" Gwen asked, walking into her home with the others traipsing after her. "I don't really care,"

"Bit harsh," Mikey stated. He dived to miss Steph's punch.

"Go watch your game. I'll be right back,"

"What's _your_ problem?" Steph called after her. "Hey, Gwen!"

No response.

"Oi! I'm yelling at you, bloody well pay attention!" she steamrollered up at the stairs after her, and ran head long into a wall of manna. "D'oh _shit_!" She stalked back downstairs, muttering darkly under her breath in Croatian.

"Ha _ha_!" Mikey pointed, laughing.

"I'll kill you!" she shrieked, pouncing.

Mikey yelped and fell backwards, his knees hitting the arm of the sofa and falling over. Steph was aiming to throttle him, but Ben pushed her onto the floor.

"Shut _up_! Gwen's gonna kick us out! And we'll _miss_ the kick off! And then I'll eat your soul," he bustled off to the kitchen.

"Hey!" Mikey twisted off the sofa and ran after him. "_You_ don't eat souls! That's River job,"

"OW!" Steph shrieked, her hand getting crushed under Mikey's shoes. "You bitch!" She would have gone and garrotted him using the box of dental floss randomly loafing on the coffee table, but Kevin chose that moment to flop down onto the sofa, looking morose, not wearing the ID Mask. "Oh, what now?"

"Life sucks." He said sadly, not even trying to be sarcastic.

"Oh dear!" Steph bounced up off the floor and onto the cushions beside him. "Can Aunty Steph make it better?"

Kevin made a retching noise. "Go away."

"Aww, c'mon! Buddy," Steph put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I know it bites and all," she gestured at her appearance. "But you can't let that stop you! It's never stopped you before, nothing _ever_ stops you!"

"Yeah," he said scathingly, propping himself on his elbows against his knees, leaning forward so he could evade her gaze. "Way to go with the emotive speech. Just go away, I want to wallow in self pity by myself."

Steph frowned, wanting so badly to have River's gift of saying the right thing at the right time.

"Err…Kevin?"

He didn't look up.

Sighing, Steph punched his shoulder. "Can we just be honest with each other for a moment? Look," she pushed her long fringe out of her eyes, staring at the blank TV screen for inspiration. "I know you care and all, but we really don't. You could have a third eye, a tail, and fire coming out of your arse and I still wouldn't care. What I _do_ care about is the way you act."

Kevin's shoulder's hunched.

"I mean, yeah the illegal tech deals and stuff – yeah, I am fully aware of them, and that's not the point. What I mean is, just…this!" she waved her hands above her head. "All the moping! _Seriously_,"

Kevin looked up at this, glaring at her. "If you don't like it, then piss off."

"See," Steph rolled her eyes, giving the curtains a meaningful look. "I like _you_, not the attitude. I mean, not to put too finer a point on it, but you're pretty irritating to be around lately. And I _want_ to hang out and all, but I'll take my blood pressure over your feelings anytime." She pulled a face, shrugging. "Mainly because my mum would kill you if I died due to stress related illness and then I would be a very sad angel."

Kevin snorted with laughter. "Yeah right!" he punched her in the stomach. "You. An _angel_."

"See!" Steph threw her arms around his neck, grinning. "That's the Kevin I enjoy hanging with!"

"I'll hang you from the ceiling in a minute," he threatened, prying her hands off him.

"And there he is again!"

"Seriously Steph, go away!"

"Oh normal Kevin, take me with you!"

"Get _off_!"

They both fell onto the floor in a tangle of limbs, attempting grievous bodily harm on each other.

"Oh, I'm sorry, would you guys like to get a room?" Ben said irritably, plonking himself down on the vacated sofa with a huge bowl of popcorn.

"Who wants drink!" Mikey yelled, throwing a set of cups down and a two-litre bottle of lemonade.

"I do!" Steph dealt out the drinks, and settled in for an evening of sportsman bashing.

Through out the entire match she and Mikey made jibes about the athletes complaining loudly that their rugby players got by without all the padding and helmets, with fewer head injuries. It was thoroughly enjoyable, what with Ben being very wound up and all when Mikey started singing Irish pub songs very loudly at half time; he followed the younger boy back into the kitchen to make more popcorn.

Taking the momentary interruption, Steph punched Kevin's arm. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"What?" he turned to look at her.

"What's really bugging you at the moment?"

Kevin looked away, sighing heavily. "It's Gwen."

"Yeah, she's been all weird and spacky the last few days."

"You noticed it too?"

"Would I be bitching about it if I didn't?"

"I never know with you…"

Steph sighed in exasperation. "Look, Kevin. You know I'm not good at the soppy emotional stuff but… you were there for me. Remember when we found my dad? And it was a _massive_ shock to the system. You were there for me then, and I feel like I should be there for you too."

"Steph," he didn't quite meet her gaze. "Look, I…"

Steph cocked her head to one side, beads clicking together loudly in the silence.

"Thanks. I do appreciate it, really."

"Yeah, s'aright." She smiled. "Don't worry about Gwen. Seriously, it's _not you_. Well, not this time anyway."

"What d'you mean _this time_?" he snapped, leaning back so he could appraise her full expression.

"You wouldn't _believe_ the stuff she used to say about you. 'Oh my God, Kevin's such a doofus!'" she waved her arms around like a windmill. "'He's such an idiot! What is his problem anyway? Blargh!'"

Kevin smacked her round the head, and they started another wrestling match laughing. "She didn't say that!"

"She so did! _Before_ you grew a pair and asked her out, though."

XOXOX

Kevin was glad that Steph had wheedled her way into his melancholy and dragged him out of it; she had her own unique way of worming her way through his brain, and it worked wonders.

By the time the match ended – their team loosing not too badly, he might add – they'd had at least five fistfights, all ending in fits of laughter. They lost count after that.

"Where the _hell_ is Gwen?" Ben muttered darkly, taking the empty bowl back to the kitchen.

"You only just noticed?" Mikey said scathingly, checking his watch. "Bugger, run out of power." He whipped out his phone, and swore loudly. "Bloody stupid-!"

"I fancy a smoothie," Steph said randomly.

"All in favour of Ben buying the first round?" Kevin asked.

"Aye!" Steph shouted, nearly poking his eyes out in her haste to raise her hand

"Aye ye scallywag!" Mikey said in a convincing Scottish accent.

"Aye!" Kevin raised his own hand and slapped Steph's. "Three to one. Tennyson, drinks are on you!"

"No way!" Ben swept dramatically into the room. "I call not it!"

"Rock, Paper, Scissors!" Steph suggested loudly.

"Okay," Kevin smirked.

"I propose Kevin on behalf of our team," Steph added.

"No, _you're_ playing the winner," Ben said sullenly.

"I am _loving_ this," Mikey said, munching on the last of the popcorn.

It was fairly straightforward; Ben lost all three, and Steph lost two (Mikey opted to remain outside the fight zone).

"What the hell?" Steph demanded, having lost two but won the last one. "I chose paper!" she showed her flat hand, palm down.

"And I chose rock," Kevin sniffed. "I win."

"No, the whole point of rock paper scissors is that each item has a weakness. Paper," she said, grabbing his fist. "Covers rock. The end!"

"Okay, let's put that theory to the test," Kevin squared up to her, falling into a fighting stance. "Show me your paper,"

Steph raised her hand and shouted, "Jesus Christ!" when he lunged at her, fist connecting with her face. "Ow! Bloody hell, Kevin! That _hurt_," she stalked off, nursing her injuries.

"Paper didn't save you that time, did it?" Kevin grinned.

Steph applied his philosophy to her match against Ben, the stormy purple bruise on her cheek rapidly receding into brown, red, yellow, and eventually the healthy tan of her skin. Ben knew better than to question her newfound thesis, and ran away when she challenged him on using rock.

"Okay, I'm bored," Mikey stood up and stretched. "Gwen!" he shouted at the stairs. "Get your arse down here! Smoothie time!" they waited for a response. "Oi! Cloth ears,"

They all traipsed upstairs, and Ben all but kicked the door in. "Hey! What were you doing up here?" he demanded, cranky and defeated.

"Just…working on a project." She said nonchalantly.

"Come on!" Mikey zoomed down the stairs. "Last one to the jeep's a rotten egg!"

"Freak," Steph snarled over her shoulder.

"Hey," Kevin stuck his head around Gwen's door. "We're all going to Mr Smoothies. Wanna come with? Ben's buyin'."

Ben scowled at him, then stepped back in surprise when Gwen ran at them. She flung her arms around Kevin's neck, in a loving display of affection that didn't go with her recent mood. Stunned, Kevin took a step back to stop himself loosing balance, and when she drew back, he struggled to find the right words.

"What was that for?" he winced internally when they came out sounding ungrateful.

"I…don't know," she said, a far away look in her eyes.

"Come on! Let's go!" Mikey shouted up the stairs. "I'm thirsty! Move it Steph!"

"I'm coming! Jesus Titty _Frickin'_ Christ…"

"Now, now, Stephenie, mind your language-"

"Argh!" Steph flew down the stairs and there was a resounding crash and a yelp.

"Oh God," Gwen clamped a hand over her eyes. "Please don't say they broke something. My parent's will flip…"

"I got this," Ben said, bored. He jumped onto the banisters and slid down to meet them in the hall, adding another thud and a yell.

"Come on," Kevin said, turning to follow. He stopped immediately when he felt Gwen's hand on his. Turning, he had just enough time to register she was getting close before her eyes closed and her lips found his. "What was _that_ for?" he asked when she stepped back, completely dazed.

"I love you," she said intensely.

"Love you too," he said, suddenly breathless.

"And I'm sorry." She babbled on, holding her hands and inspecting the nails on her fingers. "Well…I'm not. But I am,"

"So you're sorry, but you're not sorry. What'd I do?" he said, letting go of her hands and taking her shoulders instead.

"Nothing," she gave him a brilliant smile, her green eyes dancing in the dim light. "It's not you,"

"So…you're sorry but you're not sorry it's nothing to do with me?" he paraphrased her sentiment.

"Yes…" she bit her lip, looking sheepish.

"Yes!" he threw his hands into the air in celebration. "I'm off the hook!"

"Wait," she frowned, suddenly looking stern, pointing an accusing finger at him. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" he kissed her condescendingly on the crown of her head. "Bye!"

"Hey! Get back here," she ran down the stairs after him.

They both ran out of the house after the others; Gwen jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck in an attempt to keep him form running off. Ben was wrestling Steph by the mailbox, and Mikey was doing cartwheels until Steph threw Ben at him. He yelped loudly, phasing on the spot and running circles around Kevin until he cowered behind them, whimpering.

"He tried to eat me!"

"This is ridiculous," Ben spat, angry that he had lost several fights in a row _and_ owed them all a drink.

Gwen buried her face in the back of Kevin neck, laughing. Mikey stood up and pranced off towards Steph, who walked towards them and stopped when they fell in line, and they all began walk down the street, laughing together loudly and freely.

"We have got to be the saddest group ever…" Steph sniggered.

"No we're not," Mikey said dreamily, staring up at the sky, watching the stars slowly come out and twinkle high above. "Cause we're not a group, like a boy band or whatever,"

"Oh?" Ben snapped, bursting their happy little bubble. "What are we then?"

"Like a herd?" Steph suggested. They stared at her and she snapped, "What? I had to watch Ice Age one, two _and_ three last night! You bastards don't have younger siblings to baby-sit!"

"I was going for _pack_." Mikey said, ignoring her. "You know, since we chew up bad guys for breakfast. And we look out for each other! We have our Alpha," he skimmed over the details of this mysterious Alpha of theirs. "And we have each other. That's all you _need_ in a pack, isn't it? Without that, you got no pack,"

"Yeah, but we can't _all_ be werewolves like _you_,"

"Touché." Mikey said thoughtfully. "But still! We're a family! …Kinda,"

"I'll drink to that!" Steph shouted, wrapping an arm around Kevin and Gwen, and then around Mikey, waving an invisible tankard around. "Ben, get your butt over here and be a part of this moment!"

Ben scowled, but then grinned as Kevin threw and arm around his shoulders. It quickly became a grimace when he grabbed Ben in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles into his scalp. "Noogie, noogie, noogie!"

"Get – off-!" Ben protested.

Steph yelped and sprang backwards, falling over Gwen's foot and landing on the ground with a crash. They all looked up and found a familiar face standing before them; hands in the pocket of his lab coat, benign smile quirking his lips.

"Hello, everyone!" he said pleasantly.

"Who the _hell_-?" Mikey began.

"Ssh!" everyone hissed.

"Professor Paradox," Ben said, pushing Kevin off him and straightening his jacket. "Is something wrong?"

Kevin could only blink in surprise.

"Oh no, nothing's wrong." The time traveller put his hand into his pocket and took out a paper packet, like the ones Taylor put his fudge in. "Everything's _fine_." He stressed, eyes lingering for a moment on Gwen's face.

She betrayed nothing; her face remained in the surprise expression she had worn when he unexpectedly turned up, but something about her eyes made Kevin think otherwise.

"Gumball, anyone?" Paradox asked pleasantly.

"Bloody hell," Mikey muttered.

"No thanks," Ben said politely. "We're good."

"Ah well," he checked his watch. "I must be off now. Lots to do. Take care!" he waved, and was gone.

Steph blinked, and started ranting, "How does he _bloody_ do that-?"

"He's like The Doctor only without the scarf!" Mikey pointed to the place where he had been.

"Ha!" Steph rounded on him. "Matt Smith's _way_ better than David Tenant,"

"Is not! The only awesome thing about Tenant was Billy Piper! The Eleventh Doctor was _nothing_ without Rose Tyler,"

And so they bickered on their way to the jeep, loudly and probably disturbing the peace of the neighbourhood. Ben growled, and stalked after them, muttering curses under his breath. Kevin pointed and laughed, and grinned even more when he felt Gwen's arms around his waist. Her sudden mood swing should have raised a few more questions then they did, but she was happy again, and he wasn't complaining.

"So…" he said, idly twisting a strand of her hair around his finger as they walked up to the jeep. "What _was_ with the trench coat earlier?"

"Err…" Gwen looked up at him, eyes wide and all too innocent. "Cosplay?" she said eventually.

Kevin stopped, teetered for a moment, before exploding, "_Cosplay?_"

"Yeah!" she said quickly. "Dr Who,"

Kevin sighed, rolled his eyes, and bundled her into the backseat of the jeep. "You need to get your head out of the books more often."

"But Tenant had that _stupid_ scarf like the one Dylan has. And what Morningstar wore! Ergo, he's a major league _douche_ bag!" Steph spat, revving the engine.

"Oh, and a fez, a bow tie and a Centurion helmet _aren't_?" Mikey snapped.

It was a wonder no blood was shed until the car stopped.

That was when Steph spun round unexpectedly and caught Mikey's nose with her elbow.

"OW!" He shrieked, reeling from the contact.

"Shit! Sorry, sorry!" Steph fussed over the mess she had made of his face. "I'm sorry Mikey!"

"Bitch," Ben sniggered, sitting back to watch the view.

Gwen smacked him round the back of the head.

"Ouch! Hell, what was that for, Gwen?" he snapped, rubbing the sore spot.

Kevin couldn't help but laugh out loud, and pull Gwen into the circle of her arms. "That's my girl!" he said, kissing her lips.

"Argh…" Ben groaned. "I hate you all…"

"I'll happily fight you for the Alpha position," Steph said brightly.

Kevin and Mikey kicked her onto the asphalt and threw a handbook from the glove compartment at her.

"Bitches, the lot of you!" she snarled.

XOXOX

**Since I was running on my own time line before Ultimate Alien came out, what I'm planning to do is have it so finale happens just before summer holidays, everyone goes on a road trip, POSSIBLY throw in alien swarm if I feel like it later on, and then go butcher ultimate alien xD**

**I have a special idea for Christmas in this universe :) :) :) :) here's hoping I actually get round to it before Christmas 2015 at the rate I'm going xD**

**Anyways, please do review and let me know what you think! :D**

**xxx**


	34. Dream Analysis

**AN: so I had this idea and I scrapped it, and had another idea, and scrapped that one too xD I spent ages flicking through some stuff for English, and then it hit me – completely unrelated to Frankenstein, but it still hit me :D that, and looking at Freudian psychology and discussing why the three gothic texts we're looking at are all soft Victorian porn novels…which only makes sense if you're determined to set out and see all the innuendo in the 'gothic writing style'. I've read Dracula like five times and I still don't see it xD there are some crazy literature critics out there :S**

**Anyways, read and enjoy!**

_**Dream Analysis**_

It was a bright and sunny day, and Ben was licking his wounds after being beaten up by Julie.

What was there to not like?

Mikey was skimming through a magazine on automobiles, drooling over a section on motorbikes. "Duuuuude," he pointed out one in particular to Steph over the table. "That would be _amazing_ if you could afford the couple hundred grand. Think of the speed!" he sighed, gazing up at the sky in a dreamlike manner.

"Wow," Steph said, humbled by the sheer awesomeness of the engine in question. "That's teh smex, and make no mistake!" she waited for a response, which never came. "What, is it that mind numbingly awesome that you're having an organism?"

"Piss off," Mikey grumbled, snatching the magazine back. "Just cause you don't appreciate the finesse of the bike! And," he added, smirking, "I'm not the one who was accused of getting off on eating chocolate."

That caught Ben's attention. "Say what?" he demanded.

Mikey grinned at him and began to divulge this little nugget of information but Steph threw herself at him and they fell onto the asphalt, kicking and screaming.

"I love Friday afternoons," Kevin said, stretching luxuriously on the bench and leaning against Gwen's shoulder, closing his eyes and sighing.

"Excuse me," she pushed him out of the way. "I'm trying to read."

"What is this drivel anyway?" he asked, snatching it to take a closer look.

"It's mine! Give it back Kevin!"

They had their own little fight, which ended with Kevin getting bruised ribs. He lifted his shirt to show said bruise, whining loudly at the nasty blotch that was spreading over his skin.

"You'll live," she said flippantly, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

After five minutes of consistent whingeing, she gave in and kissed his cheek.

"Better now?"

"No!" he complained, poking her in the ribs, making her giggle.

"Okay, okay!" she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. After a few moments she drew back, and looked up at him, smiling; eyes sparkling in the sunlight. "And now?"

"I'll consider it," he grinned, grabbing his smoothie cup to take a swig. "Aww man!" he held it upside down, and not even a drop managed to trickle from within.

"I thought you didn't like smoothies that much," Gwen said, picking up her own cup. "I didn't get you a refill."

"But I _like_ blueberry!"

"Quit your bitching!" Steph snarled from the other side of the table.

"Shut up! I wasn't talking to you,"

"I wasn't talking to _you_ either, bitch!" she snapped, pausing in the act of smacking Ben across the face.

"I resent this treatment!" he struggled to get out of her iron grip. "I saved the whole entire universe!"

"NO ONE GIVES A SHIT!" she screeched in his face, chasing the poor hero across the parking lot with blood lust in her eyes.

"Thank you and goodnight," Mikey said with mock sincerity. "I'm going for another round. Want anything?"

They placed orders, and he skipped off to retrieve them. Without anyone else around to watch, Kevin waited for Gwen to take a sip of what remained of her smoothie before going in for the kill. Her startled squeak of surprise was endearing, just like everything else about her; and she smelled just like always, all warm and fruity. He kissed her for a moment, before drawing back in confusion.

"Pineapple?" he asked in disbelief.

"I felt like a change," she shrugged, taking his hand in both of hers. "How's the fracture?"

Kevin flexed his fingers, wincing at the pain in his knuckle. At least the swelling had gone down…it was a nightmare trying to write at the moment – or do anything at all really. His injury was at the stage where it _looked_ well enough to go on as normal, when actually it hurt like hell.

"Yeah, it's okay." He made a fist and winced at the motion. "Stupid Mr Barnes…" Sure, it was all noble and shit to rescue his classmate like that, but the guy had a head like a solid brick wall…reinforced with concrete.

Gwen lifted his hand to her lips and kissed the injured knuckle, and he felt a warm sensation spread over his hand, numbing the pain. "I still have my old spell book," she said with a smile when he gave her a funny look.

"Right," he said, nodding abstractedly.

"Smoothie time!" Mikey bounced back to the bench they were sitting. "Ben! I have lemon and ginger! Get it while it's fresh!" Gwen smiled as he placed a cup in front of her and took one for himself. "Sorry mate, they're out of blueberry." He grimaced.

Kevin swore, and stole Steph's instead. Pomegranate – what the hell was a pomegranate anyway? Except Greek. It was in that weird story about the guy who'd stolen some girl and then it was all wintry and cold and _blah_ who gave a crap anyway? Gwen gave him a withering look before reaching forward to take her refill. Something moved from the corner of Kevin's eye, but by the time his mind caught up with his sense it was already too late.

A barb; long, slender and deadly accurate came whizzing out of nowhere and pierced Gwen's hand, pinning it to the table top.

It would probably have taken longer for the full impact to sink in if it hadn't been for her scream. It cut Kevin's heart like a knife, and in a panic he tried to find a way to remove it from her hand. Gwen's body shook and she whimpered in pain, clutching at her wrist, unable to bring herself to touch her maimed hand.

"Help me!" Kevin yelled at Mikey, who was staring at them in horror. He shook himself, as though to bring himself back to reality; he swore and jumped to his feet, gently taking Gwen's hand and prising the barb out of the table. "Get it out!" Kevin could have shaken Mikey senseless if he hadn't had his arms wrapped around Gwen.

Mikey opened his mouth to retort, but instead he threw himself across the table at them; all three crashing to the ground in a heap. It was just as well, as the bench they had been sitting on was struck with a fireball.

"Hold _still_ Damnit!" someone snarled.

Kevin looked up, holding Gwen's sobbing form close to his chest, and saw an unwelcome sight before him. Charmcaster was standing in the middle of the parking lot, wielding her staff over her head and muttering a spell under her breath.

Mikey punched Kevin's shoulder and said, "Don't get it out! You'll damage her hand even more, and she'll loose blood and go into shock!" and then he threw himself sideways, phasing in one fluid motion and letting loose a snarl that quickly morphed into a full-blown roar. He launched himself at the other girl, just as Steph dive-bombed from above, and they both tackled her to the ground.

Ben came running, wide-eyed and terrified. "What happened!" he practically screamed in Kevin's ear. He saw the extent of the damage to Gwen's hand and froze in place.

"What do I do!" Kevin pleaded. "I don't know anything about medics!"

Ben cast around and grabbed the jacket of a late patron of Mr Smoothies, having run away in the face of the fireball. He ripped the arm off and tore it into shreds before gingerly taking Gwen's hand and holding it up. "Gwen? Can you hear me?"

"Yes," she breathed, the muscles in her arms pulling and jumping in protest.

"Kevin, on my mark, take the barb and pull it out. I'll deal with the rest."

Kevin nodded, feeling sick to his stomach. Ben counted to three, and he yanked the evil thing out of her hand, trying to avoid looking at the damage, fixing his gaze instead on her stricken face. It was contorted into a mask of pain that wrenched his heart in two.

"There," Ben was just about finished binding her hand up. "That'll stop the bleeding. We have to get out of-"

Something hit them hard from the left, bowling them all over. Kevin struggled to get up, finding himself face to face with a rock golem. It roared and swung its fist back for a heavy blow, which they all narrowly avoided. Ben rose from the ground as Big Chill, and Kevin grabbed Gwen around the waist and rolled out of the way just in time.

"Get her out of here!" Ben yelled, flying straight for Charmcaster.

Kevin lifted Gwen from the ground, and ran for cover. He heard Mikey's paws on the tarmac, giving them cover as they retreated. Behind a skip, Kevin lowered her gently to the ground. "Stay here," he ordered, shaking with nerves. "It's too dangerous to make a break for it. Ben and Steph need our help."

"I'm not letting you go alone," Gwen tried to sit up, gritting her teeth through her pain, the makeshift bandage already soaked with crimson.

"I have Mikey," Kevin said, forcing her into a sitting position. "You're hurt. You can't fight like this!"

A loud crash resounded and they all looked up; Steph was lying in an awkward position against a truck, head lolling in a sickening way. "Shit!" Mikey got up and ran to her, intercepting another golem.

"Please!" Kevin pleaded with Gwen. "Stay here, it's safer here. I don't want you to get hurt again!" he kissed her forehead and ran back to help Steph, absorbing the metal of the skip as he went.

Steph was twitching in a horrible manner, her left wing lifeless. She swore when Mikey nosed at her in concern, whining loudly. Pulling herself up, wing dangling uselessly, Kevin saw that there were tears in her eyes. "She broke my wing, the bitch," she croaked, voice trembling with the effort of speaking. "And I think my leg, too. I can't move…"

Mikey got his teeth around her neck and flung her to one side in a mad dash; moments later it was his own shriek that pierced their ears. Another barb, this one longer and thicker, stuck itself into his shoulder blade, jarring his back and making him double over in agony.

"Pitiful," Charmcaster sniffed, striding forth to meet his shaking body. "And here I thought you'd put up more of a fight,"

Kevin saw red; he launched himself at the girl and left fly with a series of punches that never even landed. Frantic, he searched for Ben, who was lying unconscious underneath the wreckage of a car. Steph was struggling to move, her limbs giving out under the weight of her body, unable to hold herself up. Mikey thrashed wildly, raining blood from his wound and howling in anguish.

"Well, well, well," Charmcaster sneered at Kevin's feeble attempts to bring her harm. "What do we have here?" one of her golems was trudging towards them, arms outstretched.

With Gwen in its hands.

"GWEN!" Kevin hadn't known his voice could go that high or that loud, but it did all the same. He was running before he even knew what he was going to do. Something – _anything_ to save her. There was no living without Gwen.

It was a very plain, and very simple truth.

Something barred Kevin's path; a bright silver light that became Charmcaster. He kept running, intending to barrel past, but she grabbed him by the hair and flung him to one side as easily as swatting a fly. Kevin hit the concrete wall of the main building and stars popped in front of his eyes.

Gwen…

He had to get up for Gwen.

Kevin heaved himself onto his knees, fighting past the dizziness to get back on his feet. The cruel laughter burned in his ears, and he used it to spur himself on, stumbling to his feet and trying to run past the disorientating images his eyes were sending to his brain.

"Time to say goodnight," Charmcaster simpered, taking a hold of Gwen by her hair and pulling.

Gwen was deathly pale; blood trickled from the wrappings on her hand, and her face was contorted into paroxysms of pain. Kevin was still running, but he faltered at Charmcaster's next move.

The taller girl leant behind her neck with a casual movement, and flicked her hand to one side. Gwen, still struggling against the pain in her hand and her captor, suddenly went limp. She was tossed to one side like a sack of rubbish, and Charmcaster took a step back.

She said something – probably gloating, but Kevin didn't hear.

Instead, he screamed, trying desperately to reach Gwen, but finding that everything moved in slow motion, like they did in nightmares, and he couldn't reach her fast enough.

Gwen Tennyson lay on the black tarmac, broken like a china doll. Kevin flung himself down by her side and felt for a pulse, crying her name and trying to get a response.

But her veins were lifeless; the thrum of energy in her body he'd come to covet – a sign of her vitality – was gone, as was the light in her emerald green eyes.

It wouldn't compute; Kevin's brain refused to acknowledge it.

He ran his fingers delicately over her neck, and he felt the violent break that had snapped her spinal cord, had taken her life.

Maybe once upon a time Kevin would have flown off the handle and just started hitting everything in sight at a loss like this, but he couldn't find it in him. There was nothing left in his being, except a deep despair that consumed his everything; it had no name, no face, it just existed, and demanded a voice of its own. And since it had no mouth of its own, it used his.

Kevin threw himself across her chest, sobbing uncontrollably. It felt good to cry and scream like this; the pain in his throat and lungs took away from the terrible stabbing pain in his heart. Every nerve ending in his body felt as if it were on fire, missing her warmth and kindness – everything about Gwen that had called to him since he'd first set eye on her.

Someone kicked him in the gut, but he wouldn't budge. No one could take that from him, his moment of agony; he would mourn for his love, and no one would deny him that small consolation.

Then Charmcaster proclaimed a spell to the devastated parking lot, and he felt as though he were being ripped from his own body, thrown into someone else's empty shell and looked down upon the body of the petite red haired girl, lying like a puppet whose strings had been rendered from it's frame.

Kevin yelled, reaching into the darkness in front of him, scrabbling to find a foot hold on reality, something – _anything_ to cling to.

There was a moment of terrifying blindness, and then he hit the floor with a crash, still thrashing around, becoming entangled in something and yelping in freight.

"Kevin!"

A pair of familiar hands were on his shoulders, before the thing that was snaring him was removed. Someone took a firm grip of him and shook him, repeating a question that made no sense.

"_Kevin_!" the voice said again, and suddenly his vision came back, and he could see the dimly lit attic room of the Smith-Tanner house, and the memories of the previous evening came back to him; Ben and Steph bickering over the coconut chocolates in the box that Mikey had been passing around, singing _Send Me On My Way_ with Lea and River, stealing a kiss from an unsuspecting Gwen as she dished out pasta for everyone.

Gwen…

Gwen!

He fought out of the grasp that held him and tried to find her in the darkness. Something struck him across the forehead, and a coolness swept through his skull, and he collapsed onto the floor in a twitching heap.

"Kevin! For," the voice used a word that he normally didn't hear from it, "sake! You're scaring me! What's wrong?"

Still trying to match the cadence with the tone and accent, Kevin felt a wave of nausea sweep over him, and he retched. Without knowing exactly how, he found himself in the small wet room at the other end of the attic, throwing up into the toilet bowl. His whole body convulsed, and he nearly choked at one point, so desperate to get up and make sure Gwen was safe. But someone was behind him, holding him up and keeping his lungs clear of the bile, even holding his long hair out of the way until he was spent.

However long it was between the last heave and his eventual return to reality, Kevin didn't know, but he what he did know was that River was kneeling beside him, even before he opened his eyes.

"Ugh…" he tried to sit up slowly, and she helped him, his head spinning and a headache pounding between his ears. He swore loudly, wincing at the sound echoing back off the tiled walls, and nearly collapsed again.

"Jesus…Christ!"

His hearing kept dipping in and out, missing various words here and there.

"Kevin, can you hear me?"

He nodded.

"Do you think you can stand?"

He tried to shrug.

"Here,"

A hand was under his arm, and he felt the floor drift away from the side of his face. Somehow, River managed to get him to the ground floor and into the kitchen; she snagged a chair from the dining room and sat him down on it while she ran around preparing some sort of tea. Kevin had probably phased out by the time she was done, because one moment he was leaning against the cupboard doors on a hard backed chair, and the next he was sprawled on the comfortable sofa in the living room.

It was all rather disorientating.

"Here," a mug of something was pressed to his lips. "Drink, it'll make you feel better."

He obeyed without complaint, sipping the hot liquid and finding that the relief was almost immediate.

"Now then," River took the mug from him when it was half emptied and placed it to one side. "Mind explaining to me what happened back there? You scared the living day lights out of me,"

Kevin looked up at her, able to focus his vision properly again. She was sat on the very edge of the sofa, tense and pale; her hair looked like a haystack, and her eyes burned silver.

Like the light in his dream before-

He was in her arms, crying forcefully at the memory of loosing-

His body convulsed again with the echo of-

Kevin couldn't even finish one trail of thought at this rate.

River just held him until he'd finished; her presence a soothing balm on his distress while he tried to tell himself that it was just a dream.

"Sorry? I didn't quite catch that," she said, her hand moving to feel his temperature.

"All a dream-" he murmured to himself. "Just a dream. Just a-"

"Sounded like a bloody night mare," River pushed him away slightly so she could cup his face in her hands. "Kevin, you're scaring me. Just take a deep breath and tell me what happened,"

Haltingly, he recalled the events he could remember in his dream, breaking down again when he tried to explain that he'd watched Gwen's murder. River took him in her arms again without a word, and let him calm down in his own time. The fabric of the shirt she wore was soft – cotton or something, and it smelled like her; dark blue, like Gwen's little jumper that night at the laser lance deal, but with a bright blue patchwork star emblazoned on the front with the words 'I'm a' above it.

Sea salt and cedar wood.

That was it: _cedar wood_. A memory floated to the surface of his thoughts briefly. Remembering one time inhaling River's scent when she'd been lending support after that incident with Charmcaster, and he hadn't known what that woodsy smell was.

Eventually, after gaining control again, Kevin sat up and wiped his eyes on the back of his hand, reaching for the steaming mug. There was an untouched mug of hot chocolate beside it, with a ridiculous _Hannah Montana _motif on the side. It made him giggle unexpectedly, giddy and light headed.

"Okay," River put a hand on his wrist, avoiding the hot mug in his hands. "Listen to me carefully, and keep taking deep breaths. In through the nose," she motioned for him to follow her instructions. "And out through the mouth. All right? Now then; dreams are very strange things, and scientists still don't fully understand them. Sometimes they can be visions of the future," Kevin tensed at her words, fear threatening to engulf him again, but her free arm slid around his shoulders, lending support. "Sometimes they are echoes of the past, or a different and possible present. Sometimes they are the manifestation of our deepest fears, as Freud would say," the seriousness in her expression slipped somewhat and a smile quirked her lips. "Minus the sexual nature. I _hated_ studying Freudian Psychology. And last, but not least – like so much of Freud's work – dreams can be absolute bollocks."

Kevin couldn't stop himself from laughing, but it sounded like a mad cackle you'd expect from a rejected Frankenstein.

"Look, I don't claim to understand the _why_ of your dream, but I can tell you now that Gwen is upstairs fast asleep and unharmed. She's fine,"

"I," Kevin licked his dry lips, looking into the murky green depths of the tea in his hands. "I thought that-"

"When you have a dream like that, it's very disorientating." River said, giving him a comforting squeeze. "It's a good job I was awake when you started thrashing around, otherwise you'd have had an audience. You had a kind of sleep paralysis. I've seen it before. Basically the part of your brain that shuts down fine motor control in your limbs while you sleep wasn't working, so you were basically having a fit. I actually thought you'd been possessed or something," the look in her eyes – now their normal borderline grey-blue – was mollifying.

"I don't mean to make you worry," he said hoarsely.

"I know that," she gave him a brilliant smile and ruffled his hair. "But I do anyway. Drink up," she patted his hand, and he downed the rest of the liquid in one.

River made Kevin sit for a while longer while she finished her hot chocolate, slowly and gently prying information about the nightmare from him. He managed to describe what had happened to Gwen, skipping over his reaction to it, and River nodded gravely.

"I had a dream like that once." She said, shivering.

"Sorry," Kevin mumbled, looking at his hands.

"No, it's not that." She shivered again. "I'm cold! My body's screwed up and I'm having difficulty regulating my internal temperature. I'm fine though." She took another sip before she continued. "I dreamt I saw Taylor get hit by a bus. A few days later I saw him in Victoria when I was coming back from one of my lectures, and it was just like in my dream, and I probably had a heart attack."

"What did you do?" Kevin asked.

"I ran down the street and threw myself at him. We both fell over and landed on the sidewalk on the other side of the road." She was staring off into space, eyes fixed on a point somewhere beyond the wall. "And a bus came thundering down the road a split second later. I remember the look on his face – he was about to give me a piece of his mind until that bus rolled by, and he just stared at me like a guppy at feeding time."

"What did _you_ do?" this revelation made Kevin feel all the more edgy.

"I burst into tears. I didn't know what to do with all the emotions so I just bawled my eyes out. That was about a month after we officially became a couple. It freaked the hell out of both of us, but that's how I roll," she shrugged, and slurped the rest of her drink. "But enough ethereal crap. Let's go back to sleep. There's about three hours worth left,"

River dealt with the mugs and led the way back upstairs. Once they were at the bottom of the spiral set that led up to the attic Kevin grabbed her hand and said, "Wait,"

River turned round and sat down on the steps so that they were eye to eye.

"Thanks. For, I dunno…everything." He didn't know how to put it into words, but she was always there in times of crisis.

"Anytime," she smiled, expression incredibly soft. "Don't worry about it. If it _is_ a warning, you'll know what to do when the time comes." She made to get up.

"But," Kevin raised his other hand to cling to her. "In the dream, I wasn't like this," he gestured at his mineral composed body.

"Then maybe…" she stopped and suddenly frowned, craning closer. "Hmm…" her eyes flashed, so quickly that he couldn't register the colour before they dulled again. "Maybe there's a reason you're like this." Then she closed her eyes and a shudder rippled through her body. Before Kevin had time to start worrying she opened her eyes and again and stood up. "I'm having one of my moments, just ignore it. Come on, you could do with a nap,"

Kevin let her drag him upstairs, and he gingerly picked his way over to the airbed in the middle of the sea of beanbags. Steph was curled up in her bunk, Mel and Miley were on the low bed in the alcove, each in separate sleeping bags; Lea and Mikey were curled up in their Lupus forms on the sofa, taking up all the available space, with Mikey lying haphazardly and draped over his brother's shoulders. Their ears and noses twitched comfortingly in their sleep.

Taylor groaned, and Kevin looked up in time to see him roll over, eyes closed and enveloping River in a sudden embrace that made her jump while she tried to removed her slippers.

"Where the _hell_ have you been?" he grunted sleepily.

"Ssh,"

Taylor grumbled, but fell asleep quickly, wrapped around River.

Kevin crawled carefully up alongside Gwen and, unable to stop himself, ran his fingers along the back of her neck, just to make sure it really _had_ all been a dream. She protested; a soft groan issued from the back of her throat, and her back undulated in objection to the light caress. Sweet relief washed through him as he felt for her pulse at her throat, and laid a hand against her shoulder, feeling the flow of energy coursing beneath her skin.

"Nerrh!" her hand swung up in a poor slapping motion, completely missing him. "G'way, Kevin…" she muttered, hunching herself over into a ball to avoid his probing fingers.

As ever, not taking the blindest bit of notice to her words, Kevin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, burying his nose in her loose hair and drinking in her presence.

"Mmm," she responded sleepily, twisting around in his arms and blindly reaching for him.

Kevin shifted her around into a more comfortable position, and laid his head against her shoulder, so that his nose brushed against the crook of her neck. Gwen's arms snaked their way around him and pulled him closer. He could feel the steady beat of her heart, resonating in her chest, and paid close attention to the sound of her breathing; her rib cage expanded and contracted with every breath she took.

Unable to resist, Kevin lifted his head and pressed his lips against hers. Gwen felt very warm and sleepy, and it was positively adorable when she attempted to return the gesture, yawning daintily into his mouth. He pulled away and laughed.

"Am I that boring?" he teased.

"Mmm, I'm tired…" she murmured, eyes still closed.

Kevin settled back to nuzzling her throat, placing a kiss or two here and there for god measure. "I love you,"

Gentle, measure breathing was her response.

Smiling to himself, Kevin kissed her one last time before snuggling down to catch a few more hours sleep.

XOXOX

It had been, all in all, an odd day.

Gwen had woken up to the sounds of Ben and Steph yelling at each other two floors down, and she'd opened her eyes long enough to see that there was no one else in the attic and that she and Kevin were completely alone. She allowed herself to dose off again, absently winding her fingers into his hair. She'd spent quite a while thinking on what she'd done the day before, glad that the whole world hadn't ended, but still regretting that Kevin was in this mutated form.

Those dark thoughts fluttered out of the window when he finally roused himself from sleep, and he smiled at her – not a trademark smirk or a worrying grin, but a real smile.

Breakfast was manic; Kathy, whom Gwen had had the misfortune of meeting twice before, was seated at the table in the tiny dining room with Gerald, Tom and Ian. The rest of the rabble, on the other hand, were eating off their laps in the front room, as always. Kathy gave them all heavily disapproving looks, and Gwen had to push an uncomfortable Kevin out of sight before she saw him and started raising questions.

It took a while for things to start moving; there was a national holiday to be celebrated, and the schools were all closed for the day. Mel kept Kev and the twins in order while she helped with breakfast and then took them off to one of the many fairs being held around town. Miley and Lea were babbling excitedly about some well known folk singers who were going to be playing at the mall that afternoon, all wide eyed and bouncing as if they were five years old. River, on the other hand…she was fine until she had finished her bowl of cereal, and as Mikey started singing loudly to the radio, she stood up, excused herself, and ran from the room. After ten minutes she cam back, draped over Taylor's arm and looking rather green.

It took a while for her colour to come back, but once it did Miley dragged her off so they could go clothes shopping before the Celtic Rave later. Lea gave them all the thumbs up as he ran down the hallway, tipping Kathy a huge grin and a 'Top of the morning!' before bailing out the front door.

"Git," Mikey muttered darkly at his back, avoiding Kathy's gaze.

Kathy was as slight and ginger as Dylan, but with a scowl that didn't resemble any of the Tanners', or the Smiths' for that manner. It was a relief when they managed to escape outside and pile into the jeep in the warm summer air.

"I vote smoothies!" Ben shouted through the open window. Everyone yelled their consent, and so after trailing around a few street parties (Steph complaining loudly how the VE street parties in the aftermath of WW2 on the streets of Portsmouth were way better) they doubled back to Mr Smoothies and nabbed a table before people started to arrive.

That was when things began to get odd.

Mikey and Steph argued loudly over a magazine he'd bought, and all Gwen really heard when she was paying attention was smexy bikes and orgasmic chocolate. Ben was sulking over a tiff he'd had with Julie, and not really paying anyone else much attention. Kevin collared Gwen about the book she was reading before he stopped, and became very tense.

"What's wrong?" she asked, laying the book aside.

Kevin shook his head and wouldn't say a thing. His despair deepened when he realised there was no smoothie left in his cup, and she reassured him that it was only because she thought he didn't like them much. Steph chased Ben half way round the parking lot by the time Mikey bounced off to get them all refills. By that point, Kevin was shaking.

Gwen tried to get him to tell her what was wrong, but he wouldn't budge. Mikey came back and explained that there was no blueberry left, and he hesitantly took Steph's cup instead, his hand shaking.

"Kevin," Gwen said, reaching for her own cup. "You're scaring me. What's wrong?"

He looked up, meeting her gaze, and she saw the horror in his eyes briefly before he tore the mask from his face. She was about to demand an explanation, but he threw a hand out, which flattened itself into the crude shape of a shield over her own hand.

There was an ominous whiz of a flying object and the dull _thock_ as something hit his hand. Gwen stared at the slender barb, made from some incantation and oozing with magic, embedded in his makeshift guard. Then the world spun as his other arm came round and swept her off her seat and onto the bench behind him.

"What-?" she managed to get out before Mikey jumped to his feet yelling, "HIT THE DECK!"

The three of them went flying sideways and her skull hit the ground with a crack, stars dancing before her eyes.

XOXOX

When Gwen opened her eyes again, it was to a pair of mismatched eyes; one chocolate brown, the other stained about a third ice blue

"Gwen?" Miley's voice sounded hazy. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah…" she groaned. Her head hurt like hell, and she couldn't remember what had happened.

It took a while to sort everything out – it was almost as manic as breakfast. Ben was nursing a broken arm, and Steph was actually spitting real blood from the cut lip she had sustained. Mikey looked bruised and battered, but he sat by her side – a warm and furry presence that lent some comfort.

And of course, there was Kevin, once Miley had decided that Gwen didn't need to be hospitalised. She ran off to tend to the others, while Lea ran around talking to the police and River floated from party to party lending a hand where she could. She wasn't entirely sure how and when they had turned up, but she was grateful for their presence all the same

Kevin wrapped both arms around Gwen and pulled her against his chest, holding her almost uncomfortably tight, but she didn't mind. The blow to her head made everything feel very hazy, and she couldn't pin point anything in her swirling vision except Kevin.

"You scared me," she accused, suddenly remembering his strange behaviour from before.

"_You_ scared _us_." Mikey snorted with laughter, nosing her hand playfully. "That Charm…gasket bitch – whatever!" he snapped at Kevin's laughter. "Showed up. We wiped the floor with her," he barked with laughter. "Only you went and got yourself knocked out," he huffed in annoyance. "Idiot," he continued, teasingly. "And Kevin was standing over you the whole time like he thought you were gonna randomly combust or something. Dude, the fight would have been over much faster if you'd just lent a hand," Mikey said accusingly.

In response to his jibes, Kevin pulled Gwen closer and brushed his lips against her forehead. She let her arms wonder through the space between them until they were wrapped securely around his waist, curling her body around his. She dimly heard River pushing Mikey out of the way, and then a light was flashed in her eyes.

"Watch the finger," River said in a tone that suggested she had said this many times today. "Okay, she's fine," she delivered her verdict to the others. "Nothing much to report really. She'll have a nasty headache and see spots in her eyes for the rest of the weekend, but she'll be okay."

Gwen felt something brush against her lips, and responded automatically to his kisses. "I'll take her home," Kevin began to gather her up in his arms so that she wouldn't have to walk.

And then Steph started yelling and screaming blue murder, and Gwen forced her eyes open to see what was upsetting her.

The red jeep was toast. In a creator, like the one where their table had been earlier.

"The _bitch_," Mikey said in a dramatic tone. "How dare she target the Jeep of Death!"

"Get in the truck," River sighed. "We'll take you home. Gwen? Honey, can you hear me?"

"It hurts when I see," she moaned, clutching her skull.

"Don't do that. Try to keep pressure off the back of your head. Come on, then! Keep your eyes closed if it helps you,"

Once inside the cab of the truck, things were much more quiet. Probably thinking that she was asleep, Kevin said, "River?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for the heads up."

Gwen cracked her eyes open to see their expressions. Taylor was kicking the vehicle into life, and River was exchanging a meaningful and knowing look with Kevin – Gwen didn't understand it.

"Welcome. I'm glad we had that talk earlier this morning," she said, eyes flickering to Gwen briefly.

"What are you on about?" she mumbled.

"Nothing," Kevin stroked her face. "Go to sleep."

XOXOX

**I think the ending may have been a let down; I was going for a vague sort of approach because Gwen cracked her head and was all disorientated and stuff…**

**I'm not entirely sure how the dream sequence came across, I know what I was aiming for, but I dunno if I succeeded… I was trying to fill in the gap the show left because everyone was like 'so when did this thing that made the timeline diverge and kill Gwen and Hex take over the world?' and I thought I'd try and slip it in there :)**

**Any thoughts are greatly appreciated! :D**

**xxx**


	35. Jurassic Bite

**AN: may have got a LITTLE carried away with this one xD still taking those loose ends and tying them into Gordian knots – but like I said, I went a bit mad with this one :) but it ties in nicely with what I have coming up next ;)**

**This took a little longer to get out for two reasons: firstly, I shouldn't think of an adequate name, and secondly, my internets died just after I found one :/ **

**Anyways, xD I know I promised that I was working on a sequel chapter to Encounter, and that was quite a while ago…(hanging my head in shame) it's taking a lot longer and a lot more effort than I thought it would, since all the characters have grown a lot since the beginning of alien force, so I'm trying to revert my mind back to that stage and get them back in character for that time frame :D it's exhausting work and may very well have killed one too many brain cells xD**

**So yeah, I'll shut up now and go work on it some more like I promised I would ;)**

**Enjoy!**

_**Jurassic Bite**_

"So," Max said, rifling through the papers on the table.

They were in the Rusk Bucket, holding a 'conference'. By that, they were lounging around having a casual discussion about what they had to do next. Miley was steadily gaining more knowledge and fact sheets by attending different courses, and Lea was slowly building up something akin to Facebook, but with the Plumber's organisation in mind. He said it would be good for the younger members because they'd instantly know who to access information and communicate with each other because of their familiarity with the workings of various social networking sites. That, and the fact that Kevin and Steph were heavily influencing the infrastructure of the software, while Mikey picked out colour schemes for the various WebPages. Gwen, in the mean time, was doing a little bit of research to help supplement the system when they would eventually try to launch it.

River was another matter entirely, and one that Max wanted to address.

Taylor was sitting beside her, absently tapping a block of wood against the tabletop. River herself was waiting for her turn in the hot seat, reading over a report on a trial held for one of the youngster's from the last study she had helped with before joining the Plumbers.

"River," Max said, looking over her impressive CV. "We need to work out what to do with you,"

"Yeah," she shoved the paper out of the way and propped herself up on her elbows. "I've been meaning to ask you about that, but things just keep cropping up."

"Yes," Max thought back to the last little escapade at the beginning of the weekend. It was Sunday now, and Gwen was able to walk in straight line without feeling sick. As a result, they'd all run off to the beach, leaving the older lot to sort out their paperwork.

"Can I just ask," Taylor said, checking the blade of his knife before scoring a line on the wood. "What happens with all the legal stuff? I mean, her being military and me being not. And the fact that we're not married or anything,"

"Um," River frowned, trying to remember something. "There's a clause for that, but I haven't read it myself."

"It states that under the Prevention of Parental Seizures Act," Lea put in, banging around the kitchen unit making tea and coffee. "That due to the nature and cultural approach to marriage, and given the fact that in many communities around the galaxy do not have a cultural equivalent to getting married, that if a couple have offspring, regardless of ethnic background and whether one or both parties are involved with the Plumbers; should anything happen to one or both parents then the child or children in question are placed into the care that is specifically left in the last will and testament of the parents."

"How did you know that?" Taylor demanded. "We could have used that when we _needed_ to know about changing our wills weeks ago!"

"I just read it off this," Lea passed the sheet of paper over.

"Oh," Taylor frowned and started reading.

"It just means that Earth rules will be overruled and the child will be placed with whoever you choose. I know you were worrying about what would happen," Max explained.

"Yeah," she grimaced. "A friend of mine had a co-worker out in a US Base in Germany, and she was married to an Italian. He got killed on active duty and their daughter was taken from her to go live with the grandparents in Venice, and she had to fight to get her back." she shook her head. "I'd feel better knowing there's a safety net in place in case anything happens."

"That's understandable," Max smiled, remembering the fail-safes he had set in place for his own children. "There's a form here for you both to fill in here," he handed it over. "And I have a letter from the Chief of The Psychiatry Department for you."

"Bloody hell," she said, wide eyed and passing the form over to Taylor to read. "What's Professor Fitzwilliam want with _me_?"

"Should I be worried?" Taylor teased. "I'm kidding!" he protested when she poked him in the ribs.

"He's very impressed with your observations on those paper reports. And your own reports, as well,"

"Well," she scanned down the letter. "I try to be as honest and diplomatic as possible and _none_ of the people I've met down here so far deserve to be shot with one glaring exception."

"Ah, that would be-?"

"The guy Kevin punched in the face, yeah." She flipped the sheet over to read the back. "Nasty piece of work. Kudos to Kevin for knocking him down a peg or three."

"How's his classmate doing?"

"Very well! I see her on the odd occasion and she's doing remarkably. Mikey's been keeping an eye on her as well. Kevin tries not to talk about the whole incident because he's got a mental block against the court. Can't blame the poor guy…"

"She's like the _worst_ nosey aunt in the entire universe," Taylor lamented. "And she's having my baby."

"Isn't it amazing!" Miley squealed, gathering her up in a hug.

"Trying to _read_ here," River said amiably, shrugging her friend off.

"What do I put down?" Taylor asked, holding out the form, looking lost.

River left the letter to direct the filling in of information, and signed her own details in under his. "I guess that's it except for the witness," she began, but Lea whipped it out from under her nose and signed his name on the line. "Cheers Lyndon,"

"Now then," Max set it aside to be sent off. "About the letter,"

"This guy's not getting to the point," River muttered, scanning down to the last paragraph. "Oh my God!"

Max smiled broadly, pleased by her stunned reaction.

"What?" Taylor took her hand and shifted it over so he could read as well. "…Pleased to inform you that we wish for you to take the position of…Interviewer in chief for the Plumber's Division of Psychological Analysis and Testing?" he looked up blankly. "She'll be interviewer in chief?"

"They'd like you to interview all high profile cases within this sector. You don't have to leave Earth," he said before she could ask. "You can stay here, or even stay on Vancouver Island if you want to. But they've been deliberating over this decision for quite a while now. The choice is yours,"

"Um," River bit her lip. "Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but what would my contract be like? And pay?"

Max checked another sheet of paper and quoted an amount in Zenni. "It'll be converted to dollars for you, though I don't know if that'll cost you…"

"Isn't that, like, worth _double_ what you're paid now?" Miley asked.

River stared at the paper in her hands, then up at Taylor's grin. "Guess I'll have to accept then, won't I?" He gave her a bear hug.

"Just one thing," Max was happy for them, but there was only one minor snag. "Professor Fitzwilliam would like to interview you personally, along with his second in command."

"Yeah, I'm game," River nodded, smiling. "I'm sure I can handle them,"

"_Sure_ you sure?" Lea asked, unconvinced. "Heard the number two's an old battle axe."

"Can't be any worse than my grandmother," she pulled a face.

"Go for it Riv!" Miley crowed.

"Great! May I ask when the funeral is?" Max asked.

Taylor's face fell, and River squeezed his hand. "Next week. Kevin organised a ship for us to get there quickly and bring us back. We've got to sort a few things out as well,"

"We have to look at this house we're thinking of buying," Taylor put in, rubbing his nose agitatedly. "And move some of our stuff around."

"Well, Ben and Steph are helping me on a little project for the rookies," Max leant back in his seat. "I need Gwen, Kevin and Mikey out of the way for the duration maybe I can send them up to you for a couple of days?"

"What, like free manual labour?" Taylor asked.

River gave him a dig in the ribs. "That would be a great help, if they don't mind lending a hand."

Miley squeezed her way onto the edge of the seat, her legs not quite fitting under the table, and giving River a hug. "_Oh_ my God, it's going to be so awesome!"

River cringed, and gently disentangled Miley's hands from the light grey hoody she wore. "Smiles, I appreciate the love and support you guys give me, but you're sounding more and more like Mikey everyday…and you're hurting me…"

Lea dumped a tray of teacups onto the table and slide in beside Max. "A toast," he raised his bucket-sized mug. "To a new era of Plumber's business. May River's brand of madness serve humanity for many years to come,"

"I'll drink to that," Taylor dropped the wood and grabbed a mug for himself.

Max raised his and drank deeply, but paused when they all started speaking in different languages.

"Skoll!" Miley enthused, grinning a very Mikey-like smile.

"Salud," Taylor agreed, eyes fixed on River's reaction.

With everyone looking at her so expectantly, she raised the remaining cup and said, "Egészségedre."

All but Miley stared at her in confusion.

"It's _Hungarian_, duh!" Miley defended her friend.

River herself shrugged. "It sounded in keeping with the foreign theme in my head…"

"It sounded like gobbledegook to me." Lea frowned into his mug.

Taylor burst out laughing, making the girls jump. "Gobbledegook," he giggled. "It's such a funny word…tee hee!"

"And you're having _it's_ baby?" Miley said sardonically, jabbing a thumb in his direction.

"If I said no, it would be a lie." River said helplessly, smiling at Miley's expression.

Lea made a show of checking his watch and sighing loudly. "Wish Steph and Mikey had waited for me. I could be at the beach instead of here with _these_ two," he nodded at the girls.

XOXOX

"Bitch!" Steph cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted at Mikey's retreating back. He didn't respond, so she ran further down the beach, scrambling up a large dark rock formation and jumped up and down at the summit, screaming, "Bitch bitch _bitch!_" after him.

Still nothing.

Steph started swearing and cursing Mikey's name, yelling about how much she hated his furry arse and she wanted to dig out his liver using a blunt pencil.

Ben threw his hands over his ears and fell back onto his towel, moaning, "My ears are bleeding!"

"Grow up," Gwen snapped, head bent intently over her book; the painful purple and sickly yellow bruise down the side of her face having eased somewhat since Friday.

Kevin was watching her, his head spinning somewhere in the clouds and thinking of all the really good insults and punches to throw at Steph when she finally made it back to their base camp.

Well, that was what Mikey had called it; they were sheltered from the light, dust bearing wind by a sheer rock face on their right, with the waters slowly receding to their left. They had their cooler, a large camping canister filled with lemonade, and mountains of snack food. Basically, they were set for – in Ben's own words – the zombie apocalypse. While their position was comfortable in the summer heat and the windy weather conditions, it left a _lot_ to be desired if they were attacked by zombies. Since Gwen was too busy reading to acknowledge Kevin, he was daydreaming about this zombie apocalypse, and how he would survive it.

Basically, he'd get in his car with Gwen, Steph and Mikey (kicking Ben onto the sidewalk) and drive to the nearest space shuttle. Gwen could be the navigator, Mikey could be the chef, and Steph would be the second in command, and they could float through time and space together in search of a new planet without the threat of zombies. They would probably end up on Re'ath with Ian, but it was nice to daydream about it…

Speaking of which, as Steph tripped on a discarded Frisbee and went face first into Ben's sand castle… It shattered the peace like how a shambling corpse would if one were to pitch up along the beach.

"Hey!" Ben launched himself at her, kicking up a spray of sand and making Gwen and Kevin choke. "Get off my castle!"

"It's a pile of fine sediment rock you-!" she snarled, meeting his tackle with a punch and a well-aimed kick.

"Stupid…" Kevin muttered darkly, spitting sand grains.

"Argh…" Gwen threw her book to one side and picked up a plastic cup. "Why did Mikey leave us?" she whined, pouring herself some lemonade.

"Because he's going on a date with Sally," Kevin said, absentmindedly carving his initials into the rock beside him. "Oh, sorry. It's not a _date_ it's an _outing_."

Gwen rolled her eyes and took a sip of lemonade before pulling a face. "Did she just put _vodka_ in the cooler?" she accused, glaring at Steph, who was locked in mortal combat with Ben.

Kevin sniffed the drink and sampled some. "No," he handed it back. "It's Rakla."

"What the hell's that?"

"It's the Avis equivalent. It's not as strong, you have to drink twice the amount to get even tipsy off it. But it rots up your liver much faster…"

"Steph," Gwen snarled, glaring after their friend, who was driving Ben into the sea with a child's wood and plastic spade in shocking pink.

"Be gone, foul demon!" she yelled, narrowly avoiding Ben's face before he fell over backwards under the water. "Back, back I say! Back into the watery depths of the _hell_ from whence you came!"

"Remind me again why I'm friends with her?" Gwen snarled, casting around for the small supply of bottled water Mikey had left them.

"Because she's beating up Ben," Kevin said simply.

Gwen made a small noise of disgust, and flung the empty water bottle against the rocks. "I'm going for a drink," she snarled, stalking off towards the main part of the beach.

While she was gone, and Steph was killing Ben, Kevin picked up her discarded book and read the blurb. "Move over Twilight, a new vampire hero is in town?" he read aloud off the back cover. "Shit!"

_When seventeen-year-old Kathryn moves from sunny California to wet and wild Oregon with her younger brother Kyle, she meets – _

That was as far as Kevin got before he threw the book away in disgust.

"Hey!"

Kevin smiled sheepishly, looking up at Gwen, who was bearing two ice-cream cones – each with triple scoops – and glowering at him. "Sorry!" he said, gingerly picking up the offending book, and making a show of dusting sand and seaweed from the pages. "I thought I saw a spider, but evidently I was wrong."

Gwen sank gracefully onto her towel, legs neatly crossed and posture perfectly straight. Apparently, it kept the tension in her skull to a minimum if she kept her spine perfectly vertical. Miley had spun a tale (with River's help) about how, by keeping the back straight, you allowed the movement of chi an uninterrupted flow through the seven major points of power. Then River added about neurotransmitters and how making life easy for the central nervous system released a hormone that made you all relaxed and stuff. It was funny watching the Soul Reader tearing down the Eastern Medic's ethereal and otherworldly explanation for the well being of the human body, with three short and technical sentences.

Kevin meekly took the proffered cone and shoved it into his mouth before he said something else that was stupid. That, however, gave him brain freeze, and he yelped loudly, washing the coldness away with the contaminated lemonade. Gwen giggled, but didn't say anything; instead, she smirked and daintily ate her own ice cream.

"Why?" Kevin asked finally, wringing his hands in defeat. "Just _why_?"

Gwen picked the book up and opened it to the page she had been reading before. "It's like Twilight. Only better,"

"_Any_thing's better than Twilight," he said impatiently. "But why do you feel the need to pick up more crappy romance novels?" Wasn't he enough? It shouldn't have hurt, her reading a Twilight rip-off, but the thought of having to live up to another stupid _gay_ fictional character…

"It's in the third person," Gwen said, flicking through to the first page and showing him. "And Kathryn is a very different character to Bella. Plus," she gave him a mischievous smile. "The love interest in this story is _very_ different to Edward Cullen, in _all_ the good ways."

"What," Kevin snatched the book and scanned the first page. "He's not masochistic and he can take the hint that she loves him and doesn't want to leave him and would die for him and shit?"

"Sound's like someone else I know," she rolled her eyes, and flopped onto her back, soaking up the sun. "Anyway, Miley introduced me to it. It's really well written,"

"She's just blabbing about how she's depressed and's trying to not let her little brother see. Masochistic," Kevin shook his head and chucked the book across their base camp. "Boring! Plus, come on!" he gestured with his hands, before realising he was making a motion that River often made to emphasise her point. "California to _Oregon_? Arizona to Washington. Is the author even _trying_?"

Gwen sat up, eyes blazing, and they started arguing about the pros and cons of Twilight versus…what was that, _Dark Fall_? Gah! This was all so stupid…

They broke off the fight when Steph came storming back to them, face set into a lethal scowl and dripping seawater; a wound from falling on a jaggedy rock wept blood languidly across her shoulder, already half healed.

Ben chose that moment to run up behind her, with a huge clump of seaweed, and whack her round the back of the head with it. He ran away shrieking with laughter, but Steph didn't move at first.

"Err…Steph?" Gwen said uncertainly when she shook her head, as though she were dispelling a thought, and crouched down by her bag. "You're not going to do anything stupid or dangerous…are you?"

Kevin doubled over with laughter. Yeah right! Steph; doing stuff that wasn't dangerous or stupid… not in this universe!

"Oh, no!" she smiled brilliantly, eyes crinkling ominously as she took Cooper's glove and slid her hand into it. "I'm just going to feast upon his immortal soul!" she stood up, checked the glove, and then ran at Ben's face, which was peering round the edge of another large rock formation in the shallows. "You're blood is mine Benjamin!" she shouted, pulling her arm back for a fireball throw.

They could still hear the screams over Kevin's laughter. He didn't sober up when Gwen threw her book at him, but he did when she started pummelling his arm.

"Okay, okay! I give up," he said, thrusting the book into her face. "Take your lame ass vampire fetish somewhere else.

"Huh!" Gwen huffed, whacking him round the head with it. "I can't believe I put up with you guys like this. _All_ the time!"

"Face it," Kevin reclined against the rock, letting the sun warm him as he smirked up at the sky. "Your life would be boring as hell without us. _Especially_ me."

Chancing a glance at Gwen, he saw she scowling at her empty water bottle. "I could probably make do." She muttered darkly. "Oh…_why_ didn't I say yes to Verdona when I had the chance?"

"Aw, c'mon! We're not _that_ bad,"

"Oh yes you are," she snapped, glaring up at him irritably. "Why couldn't I have nice _normal_ friends? But no! I had to chose to spend my entire life with _you_, Steph the one spanner wonder, and my doofus cousin!"

"But you like Mikey, right?" just as Kevin and Steph had been quoting the entirety of _Monty Python's Flying Circus _last week, those two had basically regurgitated the entire works of Jane Austin in the space of an hour. It was kinda creepy how they got on like that…

"Yes, I do! More than _you_ at the moment,"

Yup, Gwen was just irritable in general today. Kevin wasn't good at sensitive issues, but he was slowly getting better at pinpointing the symptoms of PMT. This seemed the likely culprit… that, and her head must be hurting something terrible. Even so, he'd _know_ if she really meant what she was saying, which in this case she didn't.

"Well," Kevin sighed dramatically and closed his eyes, cushioning his head with his hands. "I _would_ try to be normal for you. I tried that once around River, just to see what her reaction would be."

"And how did that go?" Gwen asked sarcastically.

"She hit me and said _never_ try it again because it was creepy." He grinned. It was more a case of her throwing a binding folder across the table and grabbing the neck of her guitar and threatening to beat him with it.

River's exact words were, "You bloody try that again and I'll bash your brains out! We love you for being spiky and sarcastic and a dry sense of humour. So help me-!" and that was all she managed to get out until Miley dragged her away to go clothes shopping.

Gwen took a deep breath, and held onto it for a long time before breathing out, and narrowing her eyes out to sea. Just as she was about to make some smart remark in answer to his comment, all three badges spread around their camp started screeching loudly in warning, making them both jump.

Steph tripped head over heels into Kevin in her haste to get back in time. "What, what?" she shouted over the noise.

"Street fair's been attacked by…" Ben started slapping the face of the omnitrix, trying to get more information and failing. "What the hell…dinosaurs?"

Steph swore loudly. "…I'm gonna _kill_ Mikey…" she snarled.

"Duty calls!" Ben shouted, one hand raised in a heroic gesture, the other resting on his hip. Then he ran down the beach to the parking lot. "To the Kevin mobile!"

"And I'm gonna _bloody_ kill Benny Boy too…!" Steph snapped, pounding after him.

XOXOX

Miley squealed like a little schoolgirl, and bounced on the balls of her feet. She made a show of sneaking further down the street, under the cover of a stall selling beautifully engraved conch shells, her gaze locked on her younger brother and his not-quite-official date.

Lea shared a look with River, before he turned and beat his head against a lamppost. After promising to kill him for trying to take advantage of Sally, suddenly Miley was all for this pairing.

"Why?" Lea asked the post dramatically. "Just…why?"

"Okay!" River steered him away from the lamppost. After the last time this had happened backstage during a school production, she wasn't taking any chances… "I'm not feeding you and wiping your arse when you're brain dead – stop it."

"I wish I didn't have a twin. I mean," he let her tug him along by the elbow, stopping outside a shop with a display of maternity clothes in the window. "I wouldn't mind having a _sister_. That's fine! I just resent having an identical, opposite sex, mirror image twin." He wrinkled his nose at an ugly jumper in colours you'd only see being taken semi-seriously in an _Austin Powers _film. She shuddered at the thought of wearing such an abomination of the fashion world.

"It's great being me," River said brightly, inspecting an indigo blue short-sleeved shirt with a sort of wrap around cardigan attached to the sides. Now _that_ was something she could wear with dignity; she'd have to surreptitiously shove Miley into the shop and make sure she saw that River was at least trying when it came to shopping, otherwise none of them would sleep for the next week... "I have an amazing array of brothers to choose from that I'm not _actually_ related to. So I can pick and choose as and when I want to acknowledge them as family without the guilt of knowing I'm denouncing my own flesh and blood!"

Lea barked with laughter, and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Ah, River! When you piss off back to Canada, eh? We're gonna miss you down here."

"That is the worst accent I've heard since Dean's impersonation of a Texan Cowboy," River said conversationally. "And," she added, poking him in the ribs and driving him into the middle of the street, "Not everyone in Canada says the word _eh_ at the end of every sentence you racist pig!"

"Slag,"

"Bitch!"

"Slut!"

"_Piss off_!"

Lea ran away from her, cackling to himself like a mad man.

"Yeah!" she shouted after him, considering if she could hit him with her shoe from here. "You'd better run, man whore!"

"What the hell?"

River turned on the spot, smiling at Taylor's raised eyebrow. "Ello, luv!" she put on her best northern English accent. "Was wondrin' where yah got to, yah silly goose!"

"Come on," he all but threw her over his shoulder, dragging her away from the odd looks the people around them were giving her.

"Since when has my friendship with Lea ever bothered you?" she demanded, miffed that she hadn't had a chance to at least _try _and hit him yet.

"Since stress can cause all _sorts_ of problems for you right now?" he sighed, rubbing his temples. "Look, I _know_ I'm getting on your nerves, but-"

"It's only Lea!" she laughed. "It's not like he'd actually try and knife me or something. Anyways, Miley started it by playing Aphrodite with Mikey. Look," River nodded over at her, preying on her little brother's happy bubble. "You expect Lea to take that level of neglect lying down?"

Taylor laughed, and kissed her cheek. "Aha! You're all freaks of nature,"

"Why do you think we get on so well?" she countered. "Face it, you date _me_, you date my best friend, my best friend's _brother_, _and_! You get to date my gay ex. Isn't it wonderfully screwed up?" she laughed, and tried to flounce away and look at the conch shells, but Taylor kept his arm around her waist.

"I rest my case. Come on, I met one of the _natives_," he grinned, leading her the opposite way to where Miley and Lea had gone.

"Oh right," River wondered where this was going.

"Making these cute little baby coats and hats and stuff. Wanna have a look?"

"Okay! Sounds like a date,"

That earned her a playful slap, and they walked down the street holding hands.

"It's like a slightly dirtier and louder version of Victoria," Taylor said suddenly.

"Yeah," River snorted. "And a _much_ cleaner and quieter version of Portsmouth."

"Well…be fair, even the Brits say Portsmouth's a-"

"Dump. Which is ironic really, since you come in on the motorway and there's a huge trash heap they _said_ would be turned into a dry ski slope." She shrugged. "Five years, people! It's like the London Eye all over again…"

"Hey," Taylor squeezed her hand. "Isn't that Kevin's mom over there?"

River blinked, and followed his gaze. Cari was talking to an old woman who was smiling and chatting away, knitting needles in hand, flashing in the sunlight as she threw stitches at the speed of light. Cain was standing outside a shop just next to them, pointing out a birdcage to Crystal that housed the most beautiful looking parrot.

The woman knitting on the camping chair caught sight of Taylor, and raised a hand in greeting, but kept on talking to Cari. She looked over her shoulder, and saw River, and smiled, waving them over.

"Hey!" Taylor said, waving back.

"Hello," River grinned.

"Good to see you again," Cari politely shook their hands, smiling warmly.

"Hello there!" the old woman said to Taylor. "So!" she looked River up and down. "My, she's such a pretty little thing, isn't she?"

River smiled indulgently, knowing that Cari wasn't overly short in the height department either, and that she towered over the older woman.

The lady fussed over her for a moment before she started talking to Taylor, and they had good old natter about knit ware. While he was otherwise occupied, River turned to Cari and asked how life was going.

"Well," she tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear, looking rather bemused. "Kevin got an A in one of his biology tests."

"Wow!" River grinned. "He hasn't told me that. Do you know what they were tested on?"

"I think it was cell division." Cari said, pulling a face and shrugging. "I don't know. I never was good at science."

"Ah," River raised her eyebrows. "That will probably be my fault as we had a lovely discussion on the topic last week."

"Yes, Kevin did say you spent a whole day conducting a biology lesson,"

"Well…" she pulled a face, and decided to come clean with Cari. "I was actually conducting a mini study on them to see if I could hold their attention for long enough. It transpires that with Kevin, if you have something edible," she counted off on her fingers. "Something shiny, and something mildly interesting with a little bit of humour thrown in, and you've got him riveted for _hours_."

Cari laughed. "How did you manage that in one day, when his teachers have tried for years?"

"It's amazing what you can do with a bag of gummy snakes, copper wire, and Michael McIntyre's gag book." River said solemnly.

"Interesting combination,"

"It was more a case of trying to motivate the boys into doing their homework and Steph suggesting I throw my own penny's worth into it. That and she had a big bag of sweets, I mean, I couldn't resist!"

Cari laughed, before fixing her with a deep look. "I also heard that you're expecting…?" she trailed off.

River tried to hide her grin, her hand wondering automatically to her growing bum. "Yeah, I am. I suppose Kevin told you that,"

"No, it was Steph."

"Ah! Ever spilling my guts for me, that girl."

"Just like her father," Cari smiled.

"So much so it's actually scary." She grimaced. "But not as scary as the food cravings."

"Kicked in, have they?" the older woman nodded in sympathy.

"No one else really understands the insanity of a pregnant woman," River lamented. Cari at least could sympathise. "I think I gave Kevin a heart attack though. We were at Mel's house, and she let me borrow their blender, so I put in…what was it? Peanut butter, blueberry jelly, Nutella, strawberry jam, and…custard! Which is weird in itself, cause I hate custard. So I had this icky cocktail of _stuff_ and I was drinking it," Cari put a hand over her mouth in a failed attempt to hide her giggle. "And then I set it down and Kevin came in and shouted 'Smoothie!' and drank it!" they both had a good laugh over it. "I've never seen a person so sick in my life! I did try to warn him, but _no_, Kevin always knows what he's doing!"

"So true,"

"You're not laughing at my expense, are you?" Taylor asked playfully.

"No, just telling Cari about my weird and wonderful food cravings."

"I remember when I was having Kevin, I used to drink a bottle of Lucazade and eat a Mars Bar at the same time." Cari grimaced at the memory. "Every day until he was born. It made me so sick…"

"I'm sort of surprised I haven't made myself sick yet. It's always long after eating that the morning sickness kicks in," River frowned at the wall. Everyone she knew who'd had a baby had told her icky stories like that. She was hanging onto the hope that she could keep her bizarre cravings to herself, and not inflict them on someone else.

"It will come and go," Cari nodded at Crystal, who was bouncing around the shop window excitedly. "I was so sick with this one, I could barely move during the day."

"They say boys and girls carry differently," Taylor put in.

"Not true," River shook her head. "I have five brothers, and each pregnancy was different. My mom was okay with all of them for the most part except the youngest," She and Daniel had never got on with each other. At family reunions they were always at each other's throats – and _not_ in the frienemy sense that she was with Lea, or Steph with Kevin.

"Yeah, but he _is_ quite a prick though," Taylor said solemnly.

River gave him a playful slap, and was about to make a quick remark about how he couldn't talk, with _his_ brothers, when someone from down the street screamed loudly. They all jumped, and the world spun for a moment as Taylor threw her behind him so she was shielded from whatever was coming. People were running away, tripping over each other in their haste and knocking stalls down.

"What's going on?" Cari asked, grabbing Crystal as Cain hurried her back over to them.

"I don't know," River tried to peek over Taylor's shoulder. "Wassup?"

"It…looks like a dinosaur," he said slowly, disbelievingly.

"What?" she asked flatly, pushing him out of her way to get a good look down the road.

It was a little bit like Jurassic Park, only without the epic music playing in the background. Three smallish therapods – carnivorous and two legged creatures with a mouthful of teeth and a bad attitude – were running up the street, hissing loudly.

Despite the current company, River swore. They looked to be, from this distance, velociraptors; judging by the speed and agility with which they ran, and the colourful feathered plumage.

"They look more like chickens," Cain blurted out.

"Run!" River shouted, flinging herself at Cari and pushing them back. "Get inside!"

She looked shocked by the sudden outburst, but grabbed Crystal and prepared to run for it.

"Why?" Cain asked. "They don't look dangerous,"

"Do what she says," Taylor bundled them all off up the street, taking the knitting lady with them. "She's got a degree in Palaeontology."

River's heart nearly gave out when they reached the safety of a shop door and another raptor jumped out of nowhere in front of them, screaming a haunting battle cry that hadn't been heard for millions of years. Of course, the other responded to it, and they circled the group, hemming them in and away from cover.

Cain remained unconvinced, until one jumped forward and tried to slash at him with its proportionally long arms. He yelled and jumped back, nursing a streaming scratch along his forearm. Crystal screamed and clung to her mother; the old woman looked likewise terrified, hanging onto Taylor's arm as he kept River behind him.

"Where the hell are the twins!" he asked desperately.

Hoping the sound wouldn't encourage an immediate attack; River started imitating wolf calls, hoping to attract the right attention. If Lea didn't respond to her and they died she would do everything in her power to not move on to a new life and come back to be his personal poltergeist.

The largest raptor, probably the alpha male, watched her with its yellow eyes, facing forward over its pointed snout that dripped with lethal looking teeth; it was the face of a predator. For all the popular movie culture with its huge and scaly prehistoric monsters – velociraptors were _small_, fast, feathered, hunted in packs, and were deadly accurate.

River's heart pounded painfully in her chest, thinking of Kevin's family, the poor old dear caught up in the trouble, of Taylor and her baby's life. It didn't feel right, it wasn't the time to bow out of this life. Even if it transpired that it was, she'd leave this life kicking and screaming.

XOXOX

Kevin swore, and threw himself into the fray; Ben when barrelling in after him, and Steph swooped low overhead, aiming at Dr Animo who conducted his prehistoric orchestra of chaos via a remote control.

Gwen took a moment to analyse the situation, and spotted Mikey almost straight away tucked into the corner of a building, refusing to budge; he was in his Lupus form, snapping and snarling at the dinosaurs as and when they launched an attack. Throwing up a shield, she ran to meet him, and was half relieved – half terrified – to find that Sally was with him.

Mikey whined in greeting, crouching low so that the offending monsters couldn't get past him.

"Here," Gwen extended her shield, and Mikey stood up. Sally was curled up right in the corner, pale faced and transparently in shock. "Sally? You remember me?" she nodded, dumb struck. "Here," Gwen held out a hand to her, and she took it shakily, staring at Mikey wide eyed.

His tail flicked from side to side in agitation, and he whimpered in the back of his throat, not meeting Sally's eye. Instead, he raised his head and started whining shrilly. "They need help!"

Sally flinched at the sound of his voice, and he danced back a few paces, clearly upset by her reaction.

"Go," Gwen urged, putting her hands on Sally's shoulders. "I'll look after her,"

Mikey was gone before she could say another word. Gwen took her eyes off the trembling girl under her care long enough to note that Miley and Lea were rocketing across the street after him. One ran to help him tackle a larger dinosaur that had thrown Kevin into a shop window, and the other pelted off towards a group of people that…

Gwen recognised the flash of pastel blue just before Lea threw himself over River, and the other people she was with. Turning to Sally, she said, "Come with me," she rechecked her shield before taking Sally by the hand and dragging her back across the street. If anyone could look after her, River could.

It was simple enough to get rid of the pesky, smaller dinosaurs by hurling discs of manna at them, and once they ran screaming shrilly from the scene Lea chased them up for a few feet, snarling loudly. Gwen ran to River's side and flung Sally at her.

"Help!" she pleaded, wanting to run back and make sure Kevin hadn't actually sustained any brain damage this time round. "They need me,"

River held out both arms and gently took Sally from her; she clung to River's arm for support automatically, and Taylor hesitantly patted her shoulder. "Okay?" he asked awkwardly.

"Do me a favour," River said in a low voice. "If Kevin isn't brain dead by the time you reach him, let him know that I'll _happily_ kill every last brain cell he has if he keeps up _that_," she nodded over to where Kevin was standing.

Gwen, despite the desperation of the moment, hung her head in shame and smacked the heel of her hand into her temple as he ran up to Dr Animo and got thrown back into the same shop, breaking what was left of the glass. And she continued to call him her _boyfriend_…

Mikey zoomed over and picked him up with his teeth before launching himself back at the villain, dodging attacks and managing to get his teeth locked around the hand that wielded the control devise.

"Go on, I've got this covered," River assured Gwen, gently nudging her forward.

After she joined their ranks, and Steph blinded one of the larger dinosaurs (Ben insisted long afterwards it was a baby T-rex, and Mikey swore it was an Allosaurus. Not that anyone else actually cared when all was said and done…) everything was over fairly quickly. Kevin took an iron girder that had been supporting a marquee and wrapped it around Dr Animo like a straight jacket, and Ben almost fell over laughing as he ranted and raved, screaming at them as they left to check on the others.

Ben led the way, giggling like an idiot; Steph landed in one fluid motion and phased back, running after him. Gwen took Kevin's hand, glad he was all right, although he was massaging his neck and wincing every other step. Mikey skulked behind them at a distance, tails between his legs and nose to the ground. Miley stayed behind to watch Dr Animo, growling at his every so often, which effectively shut him up.

"Kevin," River said menacingly, leaning against the wall and beckoning him closer.

Gwen stifled a laugh and let go of his hand; he shot her a filthy look before dodging out of River's way.

"I'm more than happy to help you if you're feeling suicidal. Idiot!" she managed to cuff him round the side of the head before he ducked behind Steph and pushed her into the firing line.

"Hey! I'm not getting involved!" she protested, throwing Ben in her place. "You deal with it!"

Ben was about to swear and curse her into oblivion, but Kevin gave him an almighty dig in the ribs and stared pointedly at his sister.

"You die," he snapped, the only warning he was likely to give.

Ben glowered, but said nothing.

Gwen turned her attention from Kevin and Steph's bickering, on who should take the blame for the collateral damage, to Sally. She was sitting near where River had been standing, knees up to her chest, head held up and eyes wide as Mikey slowly sauntered closer, making himself as small and helpless as possible. Gwen's heart went out to him; she was lucky Kevin was in on the alien escapades they all went on, and Ben was _extremely_ lucky Julie was so tolerant and understanding. She couldn't expect Sally to take to the idea so readily…

The girl's eyes flickered up to Kevin briefly – unmasked and fuming as Steph tried to pile drive him into wall – before going back to Mikey. He dropped to his belly and crawled up, ears flat and looking very anxious. Gwen wanted to say something helpful, like how awesome he was and that she would be lucky to have a guy like him, but she kept her mouth shut. River somehow managed to move the chaos further away so that they could be given some space. Taylor tapped Gwen on the shoulder, and she followed, but kept a surreptitious eye on them.

When Mikey was about four feet away he collapsed onto his belly and rolled onto his side, bearing his neck in a typical Lupus sign of submission. Sally did nothing for a long pause, and then tentatively reached out a hand and laid it on the ground beside her. It took a moment for Mikey to react, but he shuffled forward awkwardly until he had almost touched her hand.

Sally hesitantly leant over and placed her fingers on his ear, and he closed his eyes with a soft whine.

"Mikey…?"

He whimpered like a dog on those animal rescue commercials on TV.

If it weren't so touching a moment, Gwen might have slapped him. Instead, River led her away by the arm and said, "Let's just give her a moment to come to terms with what's happened. Poor girl's traumatised enough without _this_ lot," she nodded at Ben, who was throwing ill aimed punches at Steph, who in turn was laughing loudly at him.

Kevin was sniggering at them and looked up, meeting Gwen's gaze. He grinned at her, and she smiled back. All in a days work, she supposed… Until his gaze slid from her face to the left, and she had barely any time to register the expression she saw there before he launched himself across the space between them.

Expecting him to try and reach her, it came as a surprise when Kevin ran past Gwen instead. A moment later, Lea (who had been standing by watching Miley's vigil) ran after Kevin, over taking him easily on his four strong legs.

That was when the screams started.

Gwen spun round and saw Cari bundling Crystal out of the way just in time, but Cain didn't quite move fast enough. Another of the smaller dinosaurs had jumped down from a roof somewhere above them, and landed on him, hissing and shrieking loudly. He yelled, losing his balance and falling over in a heap, thrashing wildly against his attacker.

Lea bowled it over, just before Kevin took a swipe at it. He hit it in the jaw, and it reeled away, scrambling to stand up again. He ran at it again, wielding his hammer shaped fists at it, followed up by Lea. It didn't slacken its pace as it retreated, especially when Lea pounced and nearly grabbed a mouthful of tail.

"Yeah!" Kevin shouted at it's swiftly retreating back. "You'd better run, bitch!"

Lea barked with laughter and bumped his face against his shoulder. "I'll take care of this," he said, and loped off after the dinosaur in hot pursuit. "Shouldn't be too difficult to deal with just the one,"

"Pack animal!" River shouted, jumping and waving her hands to get Lea's attention. "Prehistoric lizard wolf! Ferocious hunters!" she pointed at herself. "_Scientist!_" Still no response from him. "Well I'm not going to your funeral if you get eaten! Idiot…"

Kevin turned round and sauntered back to them, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. Crystal wriggled out her mother's arms and ran to him, flinging her arms around his waist. He did something Gwen had never seen before; Kevin leant down, put his arms underneath Crystal's, and lifted her off the ground, hefting her onto his hip as you did with a toddler. Normally he held her upside down or threw her onto the closest chair or sofa. The laying of her head on his shoulder completed the tender picture.

Gwen wanted to coo over them, but knew Kevin would just throw his sister back to their mother if she highlighted the moment. Ben, on the other hand, sniggered, and elbowed Steph in the gut, pointing and saying something deprecating.

Astonishingly in answer, all Kevin did was shift his sister so that he could hold her with one arm, made sure she couldn't see his hand, and made an offensive gesture at Ben.

"Kevin," Cari said in a warning tone, the effect spoiled somewhat by her evident relief.

He shrugged, and sauntered back over to them, leaving Cain on the ground, looking dumbstruck. River took the few steps towards him needed, and offered her hand. He took it, letting her haul him to his feet, and remained where he was even after River turned back to the others. Gwen followed her gaze back to Mikey and Sally.

In the excitement of the attack, Mikey had thrown himself over her in a protective stance. Now he had relaxed, and was sitting up straight, with Sally's hand on his neck, looking slightly in awe. He grinned sheepishly, caught Gwen's eye, and immediately lowered his head to the ground in a quick sheepish move. Sally looked surprised, but didn't turn away from him.

Gwen sucked in a lungful of air in preparation for a deep and contented sigh, but Ben spoiled it by throwing an arm around hers and Steph's shoulders.

"All in a day's work!" he grinned. "Wow," he looked down at their feet, which were all bare. "The streets are _filthy_!" They were all still dressed for the beach.

"Get you hand off me." Steph snapped.

It was with a face palm on Gwen's part that the impromptu mission of the day ended.

Always when they were trying to go to the beach…

XOXOX

**Well!…didn't mean for it to go on QUITE that long but still xD**

**Any thoughts/suggestions/comments/whatever please do let me know! :D**

**xxx**


	36. Decisions

**AN: in a couple of weeks I'm going to be out of the country and away from the internet in general xD so I would say I'll try to update a bit more often before leaving but I have an essay to write at at LEAST 3000 words :S which ain't gonna happen over night… wow, I wish dissecting literary genres could be as easy as writing stories, I'd have it in the bag otherwise! :P anyways, I'll take it as comes at the moment, but don't be surprised if I go offline for a few weeks xD**

**Anyways, enjoy! :)**

_**Decisions **_

After the Jurassic Park malarkey, Cari found that Cain was acting rather out of character. He said little and tended towards quiet contemplation during meals and when he got home from work.

Cari had just managed to psych herself up to ask him what was wrong, when one day the following week he came home early and caught her by the top of the basement stair case.

"We need to talk," he said, not meeting her eyes.

Cari bit her lip. That was what she had been hoping to say to him, and now her carefully crafted plan had been thrown out the window.

"All right," she said, leading the way into the kitchen. She made coffee and set two mugs on the table before seating herself opposite him. "What is it?"

Cain took a very deliberate draught of his drink before setting the cup down, and looking her full in the face. "I've been thinking recently," he stopped.

"About?" Cari hedged.

"Us. Our family." He paused again for a long time before continuing. "After last week…I realised something."

Cari waited for him to resume.

"Kevin's a good boy," he said at last, rubbing his eyes as though to dispel sleepy dust. "He's proved that on a number of occasions. And I've been too stubborn to see that until he saved my life last week." The livid lines on his arms stood out under the plain white work shirt he wore; Cari winced at the memory. "And Crystal is much happier being looked after by Kevin." Cain continued, taking her completely by surprise. "She's always buzzing after he's taken her to hockey training, or picked her up from school. And I've been thinking a lot recently."

"About what?" This was uncharacteristic behaviour, coming from Cain. Cari didn't know where he was coming from.

"I don't know how to put this delicately." Cain admitted, looking her full in the face. "So I'll just but blunt and to the point."

Cari hung in suspense, completely nonplussed and starting to worry.

"I think its would be best if I didn't live here any more."

That caught her completely by surprise.

"You mean…" Cari said slowly. "Like a divorce?"

Cain started rubbing his eyes again and sighed loudly. "There's too much friction between me and Kevin. It's clear that Crystal prefers spending time with _him_. And…he's still your son." The unspoken words, _and not mine_, hung in the air between them.

"Alright," Cari said slowly, thinking it through in her mind. "So if we did divorce, what would happen to the house and the finances?" They would have to carefully consider a lot of things.

"I'd pay child support," he said quickly. "I don't want you to think I'd just up and leave you to deal with it all. I just think that we'd all be happier if I was out of the equation."

Cari felt her jaw threaten to drop, and struggled to keep it shut. "What exactly brought all this on?" she asked eventually, in a quiet voice.

It took a while for him to respond, but it was worth waiting for the reply. "When he brought his class mate back after that incident up at the school… It took a lot of guts to do that, stand up to an adult like that, and he did the right thing. Mature even…and I realised that I've had him all wrong for a long time now."

Cari took a deep breath, gathering herself for the impending conversation ahead. "Okay then. I suppose we should start sorting this out now,"

They spent the next hour or so discussing the practical applications for a divorce. Cain remained adamant that he would help pay towards Crystal's education and general up keep, but he didn't mention Kevin at all, and Cari could guess that, while willing to help out where his daughter was concerned, since Kevin wasn't a blood relation it was no business of his. It would probably turn out to be a relief; Kevin would never accept any help from his stepfather, whether moral, emotional, or financial.

They were about to talk about visitation rights, and Cari was willing to let him see Crystal as mush as he liked, when the door burst open and the little girl in question came running in, shouting, "We're back!" she raced into the kitchen, wearing the navy blue and yellow sports kit of her school and trailing mud everywhere. "I've been picked for the team to go play in the state finals!" she squealed, jumping up and down on the spot in delight.

Cari and Cain made the due amount of fuss over her, and Kevin slunk into the room to grab a carton of juice before attempting to slink out again. Cari took Cain by the arm and murmured in his ear. "Take Crystal to the living room. I'll tell Kevin."

He nodded, and shepherded Crystal to the door.

"It was so cool!" she babbled happily as she ran ahead of him. "Coach said that…"

Kevin tried to retreat, but Cari grabbed a fistful of his shirt before he could take more than a few steps. "Kevin." She said flatly, knowing that guilty look on his face.

"Okay!" he threw his hands up in defeat and turned to face her. "I admit it! I had to run off to pick up Ben because he lost his bus pass and was late for soccer practise and Steph's jeep is still busted! Plus Mikey's bike is playing up and I promised him I'd have a look at it tomorrow. But I was there at the end of her practise! I wasn't shirking my duties,"

"You're not on trial, here," Cari said dryly, towing him to Cain's vacated chair.

Naturally, he chose to sit in the one next to it instead, innocently drinking his juice. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at him before she sat down too.

"Can we make this quick? I have to pick up Gwen from karate in ten minutes."

"Cain and I have been talking."

"Oh?" he said, not really a question; more of a listless acknowledgement of the information.

"Kevin, please be serious." She sighed.

He put his carton down and leant against the edge of the table, flicking his head to one side to dispel a lock of hair that was hanging in right over his eyes – he looked just like his father. "I'm all ears," Kevin drawled.

"Well, we've been thinking about…"

XOXOX

"A divorce?" Gwen asked, shocked.

Kevin was staring ahead into space through the windshield, hands still on the wheel of the car, and said nothing.

He had just come to pick her up from training; River had swung by to check in with their Grand Master and take a copy of the Tae Kwon Do syllabus from him so she could plan a move effective revision session with Gwen. Then she had run off to get a shuttle to France for a lecture she would be participating in on the use of underage criminals in case studies. She was very hacked off that her schedule had been messed around like this, and had been intensely apologetic that she couldn't drive Gwen home herself. Kevin had replied to her text message, and arrived to pick her up and drop this bombshell.

"When did this happen?" she asked, not sure she could read his reaction in his face.

"Today. Apparently he'd been thinking about it for a couple of days. My mom's been talking through the logistics with him a bit earlier. I dunno what they'll tell Crystal…"

Gwen bit her lip, not knowing what to say. Instead, she looked down at her worn sneakers and fiddled with the fraying handles on her overly abused kit bag.

"What?" Kevin demanded suddenly, making her look up to meet his fierce gaze.

"I don't know what to say." She admitted. "My friend's parents got divorced last year. She was really torn up about it because she didn't want to choose between them. But this is kinda different…"

He sighed loudly, hands still on the wheel of the stationary car. "I don't either."

Gwen had a feeling that he'd be much happier without Cain around, but he didn't look it at the moment; it was like watching Steph slowly coming to terms with some new and foreign idea, the shock at the back of the eyes fading everything else out.

Then a smile quirked her lips and she said, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Smoothies?" he said hopefully, perking up instantly.

"Hotdogs?" she countered with a grin.

Kevin's answering smile was – if it wasn't too cheesy to say so – dazzling. "Even better," he gunned the engine and pulled away from the sidewalk.

They were at the park in no time, and found the guy that sold the really good hotdogs, before wondering around aimlessly for fifteen minutes. Eventually, Kevin led them over to the small lake in the middle, the centre of which housed a small island with a railing around the edge, reached by an ornate bridge over the water.

Gwen smiled, squeezing his hand and finishing her hotdog. He looked back at her as he led the way, smiling as well. They reached the railing, and she let go of his hand to lean against it; she felt his arms wrap themselves around her waist and his chin rest against the hollow of her neck.

Gwen remembered this place well; it was where Kevin had first kissed her. He was nuzzling her throat, breathing in deeply and placing a lazy kiss here and there.

She was horrible and sweaty from karate, where she'd had eight consecutive sparring matches in a row with only a pause for a drink, and her breath most probably smelled of processed meat by now too; but when Kevin slid his hands to her waist and spun her round to face him, she forgot about her icky appearance and responded to his eager lips.

There was an edge to his kisses, like he was confused and not able to full concentrate on her. It was clear that his mind was split in two, so Gwen let him lean against her, face hidden in the crook of her neck, stroking his hair and letting him stay silent.

Eventually they moved back to the car, and drove to the workshop. No one was there; Mikey was on an _actual_ date this time, Ben was at soccer practise, and Steph was bargaining with Gerald about paying for the repairs on her jeep. She had been by earlier though, since there was a note scrawled over a piece of paper pinned to the wall above the broken shelving units they had managed to destroy over the course of time. Kevin ripped it from the nail it was hung on but didn't quite read it, preferring to drop it onto the table and set about ordering his toolbox.

It was something she'd seen him do a few times before; once because Steph and Ben had knocked it over and messed everything up, but other than that, it was something he did to occupy time that he otherwise wanted to avoid.

Gwen let him get away with it for as long as it took to read Steph's hasty note.

_K,_

_Gerald's getting rid of the furniture in the living room to make way for new shiny stuff. Interested in stealing it for our pit of schemingness before it gets chucked? Would text but crappy phone crapped out on me and I can't be arsed to wait round for you_

_S x_

Steph's shortish hand was quite heard to read, especially when she wrote with such haste. It was a good thing it was only in short hand, not the infamous short_er_ hand, which even Ben – who had the messiest handwriting Gwen had ever seen – couldn't read.

After having deciphered her friend's handwriting, and given Kevin plenty of time, Gwen made a block of energy and directed it towards the pile of tools Kevin was working on, sweeping them out from under his nose. He fixed her with a withering look as she slid into the chair beside him.

"I was _working_ on that," he snapped.

"What's wrong?" she asked, laying a hand over his arm.

Kevin sighed in exasperation, and ripped the mask from his face. "For one? Headache," he was about to chuck it across the room, but Gwen grabbed it and safely dumped it further down the table, out of his reach. "And second, you're not letting me smash things." He accused her.

"You'll thank me later." She said. "Tell me what's wrong?"

Kevin leant back in his seat, and stared at the ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes.

"I didn't think my mom would ever want a divorce. I dunno what to think about it…and," he added, sheepishly. "He _is_ my little sister's dad. Much as I hate him, I don't want her growing up without her father around."

Gwen was surprised by this mature confession, and felt that warm and fuzzy feeling she got when she knew he had grown up and become so much more responsible and thoughtful.

"And I want my mom to be happy. I can't tell if she is or not over this."

"I don't really know what to say to make it better…" Gwen said sadly, wishing she did. She was actually quite jealous of River in that sense; even when she was caught unawares and _completely_ unprepared, she always managed to say the right thing, even if it simply a curse at the misfortune or a light hearted joke.

"Just," Kevin turned to face her, looking guilty.

Oh dear…

"If I start acting like a jerk again,"

"Again?" she teased, earning herself a poke in the ribs.

"I don't mean it. I'm just crabby. I don't even now how I _should_ be feeling at the moment…"

Gwen made a show of considering before kissing his cheek. "I'll forgive you," she promised.

XOXOX

River stalked into the house, wanting terribly to have something to rip into little pieces and force feed to the head lecturer, but she resisted the urge.

On the whole it hadn't been a complete waste of time…in the _long_ term. Short term, however, she was feeling overly stressed and hassled and wanted to sleep. Instead, she brewed some of Miley's wonderful destress tea and curled up on the sofa, preparing to doze off for a couple of hours until Taylor got back. Then they'd have to pack up and push off back to Sooke for a few days. It was a lovely prospect, but she'd miss everyone down here something fierce.

The sound of a wolf baying filled the room, and River reached for her phone. One text message from Gwen: _hey, can I bring Kevin over? think he needs someone to talk to xxx_. River texted back an affirmative, and set about making more tea. She didn't have long to ponder what had happened, as they arrived only ten minutes later, apparently having been in the area already.

Gwen smiled apologetically and asked if she could use the shower, after karate and a non-stop sparing melee. River waved her on through the to the bathroom with a stack of towels before turning her attention to Kevin.

He didn't look upset or angry, more lost and confused…

"Wassup?" she asked when he didn't venture any information.

Kevin looked up from the sofa, almost bewildered in expression, and stated, "My mom's getting a divorce."

_That_ snapped River out of her tired state of mind.

"Really?" she blurted out before she could help herself. It had been a long lecture session, where she had had to keep her opinions to herself and smile sweetly at the more senior Plumber Liaisons who didn't have a clue and shouldn't have a say in anything the psychologists were working on.

"Yeah. Apparently Cain's been thinking about it for a few days. I dunno what to think…" he certainly looked it.

River forced a mug of tea into his hands and sat down beside him, sipping her own. "It's herbal stuff. We call it SDT cause it's a student destress tea, but no one really appreciates the joke the same way Lea does."

Kevin laughed one, and downed it in one.

"Not so fast!" River whacked him round the head with a stray piece of paper. "That negates the aromatic qualities!"

"Sorry." He said meekly, looking into the dregs of the mug. "I was thirsty…"

River sighed. "Fair enough. So, how are they going to handle this?" better get the facts laid out there. Much as he disliked his stepfather, this was bothering Kevin; it was best to get this all out now, instead of letting it fester. It was probably why those two had never had a good relationship with each other.

"Mom will have custody over Crystal, and he'll have visitation rights and stuff. He's gonna pay child support and turn up for birthday's and stuff."

"Do you know where he'll go?"

"No. Not that I care either…"

River fought to stop herself sighing loudly. Typical attitude to block off what he was really feeling…

"So how do you feel about all this?" she asked instead, waving her hand in a vague gesture.

"Dunno." He shrugged, not meeting her gaze. "I mean, _my_ life will be a lot easier, but…" he trailed off.

"Go on." River encouraged. "Look," he looked up briefly, and a smile twitched the corners of his lips as she made a show of locking her lips and throwing the key away. "Just between us."

Kevin grinned suddenly and said, "We need a secret hand shake!"

River broke down with laughter at his childishness. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. You tell me what's bugging you, and I'll let you make a secret handshake. Deal?"

"Totally!"

"All right then," she waited, and Kevin said nothing. "Spill it," she poked him in the ribs.

"You first," he complained.

"That wasn't the deal." River tried her best to look authoritive, and knowing it was too late; he didn't see her that way. "Come on, I'm trying to do my job here." When he didn't speak, she said gently, "Gwen's worried about you," it was low, dragging this little fact into the equation, but it got Kevin talking.

"I don't like the guy," he stated arrogantly, putting on a bravado of not caring. "But he's still Crystal's dad. I think she should be allowed to grow up with him, I know how much it sucks to not be able to…" he looked up quickly, guilt flashing across his face. "Sorry," he added. "I didn't mean,"

"Meh," she shrugged. "I have a dad, not a father. That's kinda how I make the distinction. There's he who cared for me, and he who spawned me. I'm not offended, really. I'm just not that fussed."

"Wish I could see things like that," Kevin grumbled. "I just always end up in a fight…"

"That's probably just Steph working her magic," River waved the notion away. "But if Cain's going to come round for birthdays and Christmas, and sees Crystal on a regular basis, then she won't be deprived."

"But what about my mom?" Kevin insisted. "I want them both to be happy. I thought she was before but…"

River kept her thoughts about that to herself; it wasn't her place to comment, and anyway, she'd only seen them together under extreme pressures, so she wouldn't know anyway. "Well, if they saw each other every once in a while, Crystal would get to see her dad, you two wouldn't be at each other's throats, and your mother would be less worried about you." Family politics were always delicate to handle. "What do you think it would be like if he was gone most of the time?"

"_I'd_ feel better about life," Kevin sniffed. "But I don't know if it's the right choice for the family."

"Okay, shoosh for a sec," River silenced him. "That's a very mature thing you've just done."

He gave her a funny look like she'd just said the moon was actually made of Swiss cheese.

"You're putting your family's needs before your own. Most teenagers would be thinking about the impact this would have on them, but you're considering everyone else."

"So?" he snapped.

"That's a good thing! Stop acting like you're on trial," the application of gentle humour eased the tension. "All it means is that, I was right, Dr Jonanburg was wrong, and we're all very lucky to have you around,"

Kevin stared at her in horror. "Jonanburg?" he spluttered.

"Oh yes! I spent the whole afternoon with him. Well, there is the French time difference to factor in, but still."

"What was _he_ doing there?" Kevin snarled.

"You knew him?"

"Douche bag…" Kevin started uttering a string of curses under his breath.

River let him off this time. "Quite. I smiled sweetly and said the kids I was working with now were the _best_ I could ever have asked for!" she grinned at him. "I saw him looking over my files during the coffee break. Eyes on stalks," she gestured. "And then he was making the most stupid comments like 'Collins, did you put on weight? That Levin boy driving you to comfort eat?' when I'm sat there with this little stack of empty chocolate mousse pots-"

"Why did _I_ get dragged into this?" Kevin whined.

"Because you're name was the most convenient '_weapon_'," she emphasised the quotation marks with her fingers. "To use against me. And then I just turned round and said, 'Yeah, getting pregnant does that to you. By the way, Magister Tennyson sends his regards!' That shut him up sharpish,"

Kevin cackled with glee. Their shared hatred of the infamous Dr Jonanburg was another factor that contributed to their friendship.

"Why is he like that?" Kevin asked eventually.

"What, the scar on his face or being a Grade A bastard in anti-sociology?" it was a running joke with one of the other psychologists she had worked with; Lucy Warstern had resigned in protest, and gone on to become one of the support staff in a rehab centre over in the next sector. They had spent many a night on the base giggling over the myriad of different 'qualifications' they could come up with for him, such as a PHD in 'douchebagery' and many acronyms for some of the worst swear words in the English language. It was too bad Lucy hadn't been there today…

"Being a git. Although, where _did_ that scar come from?" Kevin asked, hoping to grab some juicy gossip.

"Well," River effected the man's voice; loud, boisterous, and so much cleverer than thou art. "He'd have you believe that it was in the wars, or possibly even heroically and single-handedly fighting off one of the convicts under his supervision and saving the day, but,"

Kevin couldn't stop laughing.

"Basically," River said in a normal voice, leaning forward to emphasise the secretiveness of the moment. "He walked into a automatic door of a space shuttle,"

It was too much; Kevin almost fell off the couch laughing. Only when Gwen came into the room, wearing a fresh pair of jeans and a plain, baggy white t-shirt with her hair dripping everywhere that he stopped. It was a real struggle not to point and laugh at his expression.

"Do you have a comb?" Gwen asked sheepishly, running her fingers through her knotty hair.

"Hang on," River sifted through the things in her room to find the shower comb she'd bought about six months ago. There was a pile of laundry on the bed, including a mislaid pair of the farmer's underwear; she chucked them to one side and searched through her possessions for the elusive comb. "I _had_ one, the operative tense being the past…" she said loudly so they could hear her in the other room.

Taylor's things were all over the place; it would be a nightmare to go tomorrow morning…neither of them were ready to leave, with all this crap floating around!

The comb had managed to fall down the side of the bed, for some strange reason since she remembered it last being on the chest of drawers. River gave it go Gwen and started making more tea; they chatted about random things, including River's favourite: the weather.

"Apparently you get a lot of snow in the winter," she said, frowning. "Which makes complete sense when you've got a desert on one side, the sea on another, mountains to the north and a huge forest in the south."

"That's because Bellwood has it's own micro climate." Kevin said suddenly.

"Something about the weather systems coming off the mountains…" Gwen said, attacking a stubborn bunch of knots.

"It's the only useful thing I've learnt in geography." Kevin sighed dramatically, throwing himself back across what remained of the space on the sofa.

"I hated geography." River said brightly. "We had the most epic teacher until I was twelve, then he went on sick leave for eighteen months with lung cancer and only came back part time. The replacement guy had a hissy fit if you had a _fifteen_-centimetre ruler instead of a _thirty_-centimetre _rule_. And you had to five typed of highlighter pens, and at least ten pencils. I accidentally walked off with my brother's once so I had eleven and he had a _massive _go at me over it. Bloody nutter,"

"I don't like our teacher," Kevin looked very grumpy. "He's a palaeontologist on the side, and it's _all_ he ever talks about."

"No one likes a know-it-all in one field." River grinned. "I'm a know-it-all in several fields! It makes me slightly more bearable to be around."

"I like my geography teacher," Gwen put in at random.

"Teacher's voices can be off putting," River added. "_My_ replacement geography teacher had a voice that lulls you to sleep, when he wasn't yelling at us. I remember, I blanked out on a conversation about climate change and started doodling until I heard him say 'And there goes a fish past the window!' It was rather confusing until he mentioned about the Hampshire Basin, and then it made sense. But it was a complete waste of my afternoon."

"But its to do with the air pressure," Kevin continued, apparently enjoying knowing something she didn't. "Because for it to snow it has to be above freezing. So warm arm comes in off the ocean and cold air comes down from the mountains. That, and the weather coming off the desert makes the storm systems so bad."

"Ooooooh," River teased. "Hark at the expert! We should make you a BBC weather presenter, that way we might actually get an accurate prediction."

"They think this will be a good year for snow fall," Gwen said vaguely, still combing her hair through. "I'd love to have a white Christmas."

"Hmm," River tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, Michelle gave us an invite to come down here and stay for Christmas. That was before we knew junior was on her way. I guess we could still come down though,"

"With the baby?" Kevin asked, sitting up a little straighter and taking an interest.

"Well, if we did come down, I wouldn't exactly leave her behind," River teased, sipping some more tea. "She'll only be…oh wait," she mentally tallied up the weeks. "Thirty days have September, April, June, and November…Crap!" she slapped her forehead for being an idiot. "She'll only be a few days old!" She'd have to check with Miley if moving such a young baby would be a good idea. And would she still be suffering from the trauma of giving birth herself? Giving birth…Gah! It didn't bare thinking about right now…

"Aww," Gwen cooed, and Kevin pulled a face, trying and failing to hide his embarrassment.

He may have been wearing an ID Mask, but River knew he was blushing.

"It's actually scaring me now, being three and a half months…"

Gwen got up from the sofa and flung her arms around River's neck. "You're doing so well though!" she laughed.

River snorted returning the hug. "Wish my nails could say the same," she said, looking down at her hand. "And I spent the better part of six years kicking the habit. _Now_ look what you've done to me!" she patted her bump. "Making mom bite her nails!"

"Well," Kevin said dramatically, looking like a wounded hero in a melodrama. "At least you haven't started the whole 'do I look fat?' thing."

"Oh, I don't need to," River stood sideways on to him and lifted her shirt just enough to show her bump. "I _know_ I look fat. I just don't care."

Kevin rolled his eyes and ignored them grandly for the next half an hour. Gwen asked loads of questions, and River indulged in her answers; mostly about the food cravings so far, it was all great fun. But eventually Gwen had to go, as her father had arranged for a business partner of his to come to dinner, and she was expected to be there. Kevin got up to drive her home, but River caught him at the door before he could leave.

"If you want a chat, you know where I am," she reminded him.

It was a pleasant surprise when he gave her a hug and grinned. "Thanks. See you later!"

"Okay," she waved them off down the driveway. "Remember, obey the speed limit! And do your homework, tip your waitresses, and all that jazz,"

XOXOX

Ben was bored.

Steph was bouncing off the walls and ceiling because Kathy had gone for good now; Kevin was morose because Gwen was at a dinner party; and Mikey was just plain goofy. His official date with Sally had gone really well, and she'd even plucked up the courage to tease him about his 'hairy condition'. He was going on and on and _on_ about how amazing she was and she was stuck in his mind all day long.

To add insult to injury, much later that night Gwen snuck over from her house, spitting blood about how the guy at dinner had brought his son along, who turned out to be the Adrian guy who had flirted with her before. Mikey was rolling with this news, giggling like an idiot; it set Ben's teeth on edge. It resulted in a fight, one which Mikey lost badly, and slunk away to nurse his wounded pride.

"Jesus Christ," Steph said, following him upstairs. "Are you having PMT or something?"

"Piss off!" he snapped.

"Aww, Benny!" Kevin cooed over her shoulder. Steph folded her arms and gave him a superior smirk, shaking with suppressed laughter. "Are you missing your little baby mothballs?"

Steph snorted, but still contained her mirth for as long as possible.

"Yeah Mommy," she simpered, deliberately putting on the most atrocious accent she could manage. "They grow up so fast, don't they? Are you sure Father's For Justice aren't after you though?"

Ben snarled, reaching for the watch.

"Uh-Ah!" Kevin waggled a finger in his face. "No going Hero in the house!"

"Argh!" he launched himself at the two of them.

They raced down the stairs ahead of him, cackling with glee before running into Grandpa Max.

It would have been more serious if it weren't for the fact that Kevin spotted him first and came to a halt four steps above him; Steph slammed into his back, winding her herself and making him skid down to the next step. Ben had been so intent on catching them that his motivation carried his momentum into Steph's back, sending her forward one more step and making Kevin fall over backwards, landing painfully on his backside right in front of Grandpa.

"Ouch!" he glared up at Steph. "That hurt!"

"Not my fault you didn't signal," she sniffed. "And anyway, frog face here hit me!"

"Did not!" Ben shouted back loudly, indignant in the extreme.

"Ssh!" Michelle gave them all dark looks from the upstairs landing. "The children are asleep!"

"Just the man I'm looking for!" Grandpa laughed, helping Kevin to his feet. "Ben, Steph, I need to talk to you about that mission. Kevin, could you get Gwen and Mikey down here? I have a job for you three while they're at it."

Once they others had been summoned, they crowded onto the sofa in the front room, watching Grandpa intently while Ian brought in a tray of tea cups.

"Aaah!" he sighed, wafting the smell into his nose and sniffing appreciatively. "There's nothing like a cu of Earl Grey Tea after a trauma!" he downed it in one.

"Pfft!" Steph rolled her eyes and inspected her bruised hand from where Ben had tried to crush it a few moments ago, fading into yellow streaks. "Dad, _please_. I've had worse with that woman, _believe_ me. You try camping with her,"

"I stand corrected," Ian said vaguely, taking a draft.

"Now then," Grandpa said, surveying the team all cramped into the tiny space. "I have a few jobs for you,"

Mikey was slowly sliding off the arm of the sofa, and kept scrambling back up to get purchase. "Quit it!" Ben snapped, pushing him away.

"I don't wanna stand up!" Mikey whined.

"Well you ain't sitting on _my_ lap," Steph said loudly.

Gwen rolled her eyes and leant back against Kevin's shoulder; she was perched on his knee, having nowhere else to sit and dipped out on a place on the sofa.

"Guy's," Ian said in a warning tone, making them all stop bickering and look up. He put his hand to his lips and signalled for quiet, before nodding to Grandpa to continue.

"Steph and Ben, I'll need you to start formulating a strategy for the Rookies' test next week."

"Okay!" Steph grinned and turned to him beside her on the couch. "I'm thinking that you're evil and-"

"Do I _have_ to?" Ben complained, wishing it hadn't already been decided.

"Yes. Now quit your bitching,"

"What are we gonna do in the mean time?" Mikey asked loudly, sliding down the arm of the sofa another inch.

"Well, if all goes well the next few days, River and Taylor might have a house. And while these two are busy helping me out, I thought you guys could take a break from alien activity and go up to help the move their things around."

"Basically," Mikey said slowly. "Slave labour?"

"Well, Taylor's prepared to take you all sight seeing and fishing and so on. It'd be a good break from work and you'll all feel better for it,"

"As long as I don't have to pick out curtains, I'm in," Kevin said suddenly.

"Whey!" Mikey leant over to give him a high five. "I _love_ curtain shopping! I used to play theatre with my cousin until we got kicked out of the shop for breaking the displays,"

"Moving on," Steph said, shoving him out of the way so that he slid neatly onto the floor with a thud. "Is that everything?"

"Pretty much," Grandpa nodded. "At least think it over,"

"Does River know?" Gwen asked.

"I've only spoken to Taylor, and he didn't say,"

"Typical," Steph snorted. "Going behind her back like this…_git_,"

They disbanded after that, and Ben caught Kevin in the kitchen getting some water while he helped himself to a can of coke.

"Err," Kevin pointed at the object in his hand and said, "I wouldn't if I were you."

"What? Michelle says we're practically family!" Ben said, going to pull the ring of the can. "She's always telling us to help ourselves."

"No, it's not that."

Ben cocked his head to one side. "What's the problem?"

"Dylan likes coke."

"So?" Ben snorted. That had no relevance!

"So," Kevin rolled his eyes as though he were talking to a little kid. "He's coming home tomorrow? Don't you think Steph would have booby-trapped them for his return?"

Ben snorted with laughter and took up a stance, grabbed the ring and pulling. "Seriously Kevin, you are way too paranoid for your own good."

His feeling of superiority lasted until he was drenched in coke from head to toe. Kevin, having taken a step back and missed the blast range by quite a margin leant against the counter and smirked.

"I rest my case." He stood up and sauntered over to the door. "You don't last in the Null Void unless you become paranoid. I'd be dead if I didn't suspect everything around me. You'll bite the dust sooner or later with your happy go lucky crap."

"I _really_ hate you, Kevin," Ben snapped, stalking after him to go find a towel.

"Oh, Kevin!" Grandpa Max was about to leave but caught him before he could disappear upstairs. "I talked to River earlier. You alright?"

"Yeah," his face went completely blank.

That caught Ben's interest. "What's happened?" he asked, nosing around for information.

"None of _your_ business," Kevin snarled.

"Yo!" Steph fell down the stairs elegantly and draped herself across their shoulders. "I thought I heard you dulcet tones! Sup mate?"

"Take care," Grandpa Max patted Kevin on his free shoulder and left the house.

"What's happened?" Steph asked, leading the way up the stairs.

He shot Ben a dark look before murmuring something into her ear.

Steph stopped on the spot and spun round to confront him. "A divorce?"

"Cheers Steph!" he threw his hands into the air and stormed towards the front door as well. "Thanks a bunch!" just before he slammed the door shut he shot them both a venomous look. "You're a shit best friend,"

Ben stared up at Steph wide eyed. "What?" he asked, bewildered.

"Cain and Cari getting a divorce." Steph said weakly. "Shit…"

Suddenly they were both knocked flying as Gwen ran down the stairs, giving them a look just as poisonous as Kevin. "You should be ashamed of yourselves!" she said accusingly before darting out the front door as well.

"Bloody hell," Mikey traipsed down stairs and sat at the top of the flight, staring down at them all. "Is this a parody of the Exodus or what?"

"Cain and Cari are getting a divorce!" Steph said insistently, waving her arms around like a demented crow. "A _divorce_!"

"Enough!" Michelle descended upon them like an avenging angel. "Either go upstairs and be quiet or go outside!"

"It's late, no point." Steph sniffed. "I'm going to read my degree text book." And with that she flounced off upstairs.

"I'm hungry," Mikey went to the kitchen, leaving Ben all alone and dripping Coca-cola.

"I hate my life," he said drearily, heading for the door himself.

How he'd explain this away to his mother he had no idea…

XOXOX

**The title was…hard to name xD I thought of just naming it 'divorce' or something, but I decided that that would be too obvious xP **

**I am aware that Ben is slowly slipping from the limelight, so I tried to drag him back, and for some strange reason I managed to get him soaked in coke xD mainly because that happened to someone last week at school and we sat round pointing and laughing at them :) I don't know if I should cover Above and Beyond or just float around with the others back on earth…any suggestions? :)**

**xxx**


	37. Vancouver Island

**AN: I'm back! :D I'm so sorry I didn't update before I went on holiday! :( I just didn't have enough time. But I'm back now, and over my jetlag and sleepless travelling, so here's the update I promised like two weeks ago xD**

_**Vancouver Island**_

Kevin felt depressed; River had come by early in the morning to say goodbye three days ago, and he hadn't wanted her to leave. It was juvenile and selfish to want her to stay, but he knew her priorities were in a slightly different order. She'd given them all a hug and a kiss on the cheek before she and Taylor left with Lea, who would fly them there and then come back to work on his project.

There was that, and the fact that Crystal was upset at the thought of Daddy leaving them. Kevin had no idea how to handle the situation without River's helpful input, and so resorted to calling Miley and begging her to come and help. She hung around and helped bake cakes with his mother and sister for a bit while he and the others ran off after false leads.

It came as a great relief when Steph announced that River would be on Skype, and invited him round to say hi. Gwen was there too, and once they managed to get the system working, River came into view, leaning over her web cam and frowning.

"…_Bloody stupid thing_,"

"I can see you!" Steph crowed loudly.

"_It won't stay put!_" she fiddled a bit more with it before huffing in annoyance. "_Right then! Where's the stand…_" after more faffing about she managed to fix it in place. "_Okay_," she shuffled backwards across the room, arms held like a magician anticipating their next trick. "_Yey! It worked,_"

"How'd the funeral go?" Steph asked, leaning against the back of the chair Gwen sat in.

Kevin was sitting on the futon, with Steph's own web cam angled towards him. He saw on the screen as River's face fell somewhat; she leant forward, cupping her face in her hands before sitting up straighter. He was shocked to see a tear slide down her cheek. She wasn't the sort of person who cried from raw emotion, just hormonal imbalances induced from pregnancy.

"_Yeah it was…nice, a good send off. Babs is really missed up here._"

"How's Taylor?" Gwen asked, leaning forward.

"_Yeah, much better now. He really needed that, to say goodbye,_" River wiped the tear away. "_And there's another unexpected twist to this melodrama_."

"Oh? Do tell!" Steph enthused, making a fuss of sliding into the chair beside Gwen. She was so skinny and Gwen was so petite that they both managed to fill the space without getting squished.

"_So,_" River settled in for a story telling session. "_Basically, what happened was after the funeral we were told about the will, and Babs left a substantial amount of money to each of them_,"

"Who?" Kevin asked.

"_Taylor and his siblings. There's five of them in total. But it said specifically about Taylor that the sum of money goes to him and any partner and-or child, and legally under one of the Plumber's Acts I am to all extent and purposes his 'mate', so I still qualify because galactic laws outweigh Terran laws in this department._"

"Sweet!" Steph grinned, banging her fist on the desk.

"What about the house?" Kevin pressed.

"_Going to see it today,_" River grinned. "_And apparently the plans we had were old, and the loft was extended a couple of years ago so it's the full length of the house. A bit like Steph's lair,_"

"So…where are you now?"

"_Victoria,_" River looked over her shoulder and a tall guy with dreadlocks walked past the neatly made up bed in the background. "_Alright, Chris?_"

"_Where's my pick?_" he said, sounding annoyed.

"_Ray's being a dick. I think it's on the 360,_" she turned back to the screen. "_Anyway! What was I saying?_"

"Awesome house," Steph put in for her.

"_Ah yes! Awesomely awesome house. Chrissie's gonna be here in a couple of hours to pick me up. We sort of left both vehicles in Bellwood and now we're stranded with an hour long bus route between us_,"

"_I _said_,_" Chris whacked her upside the head with a magazine. "_We'd drive you!_"

"_You're already wasting all your money on Courtney. Why waste anymore on Sooke? I'll be fine, Chrissie's got to do some shopping down town later anyway, I'm going with her_,"

Chris shoved her chair out of the way and bellowed at the web cam, "_Lies, lies I tell you! Run while you still can!_"

"_Piss off,_" she pushed him out the way.

"You're doing well." Kevin said dryly. "Shouldn't you be resting up and stuff?"

"_Oh, so _they_ knew!_" Chris huffed indignantly. "_Don't your Housies mean anything to you?_"

"_They were there basically when I found out. Go away! I have work to do_," she said to his retreating back. "_Unlike _some_ people round here! Do your own bloody laundry!_"

"Language!" Steph teased, pulling a grin at her.

"_I'd almost forgotten how much I hate you all_," River shot at the guy over her shoulder.

He swore at her and laughed as he left.

"So…what's gonna happen?" Kevin asked.

"_I have a feeling we'll make an offer anyway, but its best to have a look around first._" River shuffled a few things around on her desk. "_Not so much a question of if but when we've bought it, Taylor's organised for you guys to come help out with migrating our stuff there,_" she looked irritated at the thought of not having a say in the proceedings. "_And I'll take you all whale watching and swimming and fishing and stuff to say thank you! And Gwen,_" she wasn't looking at the web cam as she spoke; instead she was flicking through a heavy bound book. "_Taylor's sister managed to get a friend of hers to lend us a few horses over a long weekend, so we could go for some trail rides_."

"That sounds brilliant!"

Steph pouted, folding her arms and glaring at the screen. "And I'm stuck with _Ben_. This sucks…you never take _me _horse riding!"

"_You never want to go_," River said, jotting something down in her book. She checked her watch before saying, "_Listen, I have to go. I'll give you a call the moment I know what's actually happening. If I don't see you before hand, Steph, good luck with the rookies!_"

"Bah!" Steph stormed off before they cut the link.

Kevin followed her downstairs, sniggering; Kev was at a swimming lesson, and Michelle had gone to Kevin's house with the twins to help his mother. Basically, this meant that they could swear at each other as much as they liked without getting into trouble. Miley and Mikey were still hunting for an apartment, while Lea had his nose buried in a standard Plumber's issue techno-handbook.

So it was just the three of them tonight.

"Wanna go do something?" Steph said eventually after they had unsuccessfully raided the fridge.

"Okay." Gwen sighed, rinsing her glass out.

"Pizza?" Kevin asked eagerly, his stomach growling at the prospect

"Hell yeah!" Steph punched him hard between the shoulder blades and immediately yowled in pain. "Bastard!" she shouted at him as he ran for the front door, cackling with glee.

Even after a whole evening of fast food, traded insults, and rounded off with a cheesy movie to which Steph fell asleep halfway through so that Kevin could ambush Gwen when she least expected it…he couldn't help but worry about Crystal.

Eventually, they left Steph snoring in the corner of her room and Kevin drove Gwen home. She hesitated before getting out of the car, and he took the chance to steal a kiss. That led to another round, which they broke off when her phone reported that her father was calling her.

Kevin waited until Gwen waved from the front door of her house and went inside before he drove off.

Once back at home, he slid into bed silently, but was interrupted from sleeping by his own phone going off. Grumbling to himself inaudibly, expecting Steph to be having a bitch at him. It was Taylor via River's cell phone.

_seen the house, made an offer, just waiting for the transaction to go through :) come up any time!_

XOXOX

"Dude," Mikey breathed, his nose pressed up against the window of the pod.

Gwen laughed at his rapt expression and joined him, looking down at the beautiful expanse of sea and forested islands as they hurtled towards Vancouver Island. She had never been there herself, but River harped on about it enough times and sported enough photographic evidence to reinforce its beauty. That, coupled with the fact she had seen those memories from River's own mind, and a residual recollection of that encounter still circled through her own body.

Kevin was handling the pod deftly, making no mistakes in their flight course and delicately curving their way towards River's coordinates. He looked thoroughly bored, and hacked off that Steph wasn't there with them. She and Ben had disappeared the day before to put their plans into action; the rookies were in for a rough ride after Steph had snuck off with a bag of chemicals in from Miley's store that had explosive properties.

Of course, Gwen had found this out through Mikey after they had gone, so she hadn't been able to put a stop to their antics, o yell at them for it…

"I wonder if Chris will lend us his kayaks?" Mikey grinned down at the sea below. "Last time I went on the water with Lea, a pod of killer whales swam by! We took loads of pictures, but I dropped the camera in the water." He didn't look put out by this.

"Sucks to be you," Kevin said irritably, tapping the control console petulantly with a frown.

"Some things are meant to be," Mikey shrugged, untroubled by his attitude. "Besides, Lea was the one wasting his time on it. I was practically falling out the boat staring at them with these," he pointed at his eyes before sitting down in the passenger seat. "Not through a lousy camera shutter."

Gwen sat down in the other chair and checked her bag for the millionth time; she had that nasty little niggling feeling in that back of her mind that she'd forgotten something, but she just couldn't figure out what it was. They had piled their things into a corner, which consisted of a four-man tent if the occasion called for it, along with sleeping bags, a couple of airbeds, and various bits and pieces they would need in the mean time.

"Starting the descent," Kevin said in a bored voice, flicking a switch.

The space pod tipped slightly forward, and Gwen felt the familiar sensation of the incline as they hurtled towards their destination. She was more or less used to the movement of a space ship; this little pod Kevin had stubbornly refused to give back was no exception.

"Yo!" Mikey said into his phone. "We're almost there, Riv!" they could hear her laughing at the other end of the line. "Put the kettle on!"

"_Understood_," and then the line died.

"Opps," Mikey spent the last five minutes of the journey trying to fix it.

"Argh!" Kevin growled, pulling them to a stop so that they hovered in midair. "Nowhere to land," he scanned the trees below them, bordering the sea to their left.

Gwen decided to test a theory of hers; she closed her eyes and concentrated hard before sending out a manna signature to the forest below. She gasped when she felt every living thing it passed through as it went, until it hit the one thing she was looking for in particular. River's presence jerked in surprise before bouncing another signal back in response, letting her know where to go.

"Move about ten feet to the right and forward twenty-five," Gwen told Kevin.

He stared at her in amazement for a few moments before complying. They set down just at the edge of a clearing that had otherwise been hidden from them at a higher altitude.

"There we go!" he grinned, killing the power and standing up. "Mikey, gimme a hand with the tent,"

"Kay," he said vaguely, beating his phone against the armrest. "Stupid…"

The boys took the heavier, bulky bags while Gwen slung a rucksack over each shoulder, and Mikey's messenger bag over her head. They traipsed outside and paused long enough for Kevin to initiate a cloaking field and make note of its location. By the time they had stumbled into the clearing, River was already on her way to meet them.

"Wow!" Mikey stopped in his tracks, making Kevin nearly drop the heavy bag between them.

Gwen felt herself gasp as well; the house they had heard so much about was so much more than she imagined, and somehow it just seemed to fit the couple perfectly.

It was a wooden lodge, with a huge veranda that ran around the front, and tailed around the right-hand side as you looked at it; there were three floors in total, with huge windows and a skylight visible on the top floor. The grass around the house was patchy, and there was a heap of old junk by the collection of large bins sat next to an unfamiliar black pick up truck.

River rushed forward the last few steps, grinning widely, and Kevin dumped the bags to throw his arms around her, laughing before Mikey pushed him bodily out of the way, yelling, "Group hug!"

Gwen flung her arms around the available arm and hugged her as well, grinning widely.

"Argh!" River flailed for a moment. "I'm gonna fall over!"

Mikey and Gwen let go, and Kevin pulled her upright so that she was in no danger of toppling over.

"Omigod!" Mikey was bouncing around in a Steph-like manner, giddy with excitement. "Look at it! That's so amazing!"

"Ain't it just?" River motioned over her shoulder. "_Way_ bigger than we thought it would be! I could have triplets and we're still make do,"

"Can we go see?" Mikey said, shaking her arm the way small children do when they're after attention.

"Go on," River grinned, nodding to the front door.

"Whee!" Mikey ran up to the front door.

Gwen caught River's eye, and they both tried desperately hard not to do the one thing Kevin dreaded from girls. It failed in an epic fashion when Mikey ran back to the grass and shouted, "They've got a patio and a sliding door!"

The girlish squeal that came from Gwen's mouth echoed River's, who actually jumped, bouncing on the balls of her feet for a moment before grabbing her hands. "Oh my god!"

"Can we go see?" Gwen enthused, as they jogged up to the door and Mikey.

"I own a house!" River crowed. "I actually own a house!"

Kevin grumbled, and stalked after them, but his expression changed once they were over the threshold. He looked up in wonder at the house around them, and River started babbling in response to Mikey's questions.

"It needs doing up, I know," she was saying, shifting a cardboard box out of the way. "But it's a roof over our heads, and it's a _great_ place to bring kids up,"

Mikey was still bouncing on the balls of his feet, grinning from ear to ear.

"Want a tour?" River said smugly.

"Yes!" he started jumping up and down.

"What did you eat for breakfast, jumping beans?" she teased, putting her hands on his shoulders and forcing him to stay still. "You make me tired just watching you!"

Gwen looked up and down the hallway they were in; the walls were peeling and it was hard to guess what colour the paint had been, but it was light with the huge glass window down the far right hand side where the stairs began. Underneath the stairs in the alcove it made was a beaten old washing machine and tumble dryer. The floors were bare, with occasional makeshift rugs of carpet samples dotted across the hall. There was an open doorway directly opposite the front door, and River led the way through to one huge room beyond.

There was a kitchen unit that was sectioned off by a low wall surrounded by kitchen cabinets, in an icky puce sort of colour. Kevin made a noise of disgust at it, and Gwen gave him a dig in the ribs.

"Be fair," River said, tapping the off-white refrigerator with her index finger. "This has been legally ours for the couple of days. I'm not a miracle worker,"

"It looks icky…" he whined.

"Look!" Mikey shouted from across the room.

Gwen gasped, and ran to join him on the floor. There was space enough for a table and chairs by the sliding glass door that took up most of the back wall, but that wasn't what drew their attention; there was a vast fireplace, complete with a child fireguard in wrought wire that formed beautiful patterns of water lilies. Mikey was spread out on the floor before it, staring up the chimney in awe.

"We had one of these in our house in Dublin!" he breathed in ecstasy.

"Wow!" Gwen giggled, looking up at the high-beamed ceiling above. She looked over her shoulder to see River bouncing again, grinning like Mikey.

Kevin eyed her speculatively before saying, "You had any sugar today?"

"Yes. No…I dunno," she stopped for a moment to consider before bouncing again. "I've gone right off milk for some reason so I had apple juice on my cereal."

Kevin hung his head in despair and dramatically swept himself away to go look out the window.

"I own a house!" River jumped again. "Anyone want a drink while I'm near the kitchen?"

Mikey nearly flattened her in his haste to help, and after a quick pit stop River took them upstairs to see the rest of the house.

"Okay, you can fight amongst yourselves about which room you'll sleep in," she said as they went up the stairs. "But the on suite is ours,"

"Dang it!" Mikey slapped his thigh. "I _never_ get the on suite!"

River laughed at his expense, and pushed the first door along the landing open. "Mine." She stated, pointing at the room inside.

From the brief glimpse Gwen got, it was as bare and undecorated, just like downstairs, and in sore need of a new coat of paint; the bed was just a mattress on the floor, and there were boxes of objects and clothes littered on the floor around it.

The next room along was just a bit smaller, and Gwen guessed that it was called shotgun as a nursery. She couldn't think why, since there was no evidence to suggest it would one day be a baby's bedroom, but it just seemed right.

"We're hoping this will be Junior's nursery," River explained. "You can bunk in here if you want, or there's the attic upstairs,"

"It's not like Steph's room, is it?" Kevin moaned, looking around soon-to-be-nursery with interest.

"Come and have a look,"

It was much smaller and enclosed than Mel and Steph's attic room, but it felt very warm and just…well, comforting. There were two large skylights, one on each side of the slanting ceilings at opposite ends of the room, and while the carpet needed to be ripped up and redone, and the walls needed plastering, it still felt very homely. An old broken desk was sagging in the corner, and in the middle of the room was a large hammock, the fabric stretched in the place where people had sat on it over the years. The best part of this room was the balcony outside, which Mikey ran to at once, drooling over the view.

The balcony was set back inside an alcove that protected it on all but one side, and that faced out towards the trees behind the house. "Careful!" River called as Mikey forced his way through the sliding door. "There's no hand rail. I'm not clearing the mess up if you crack your head open,"

"Oh my _God_!" Mikey shouted, startling the birds in the closest tree. "How the hell did you manage this?"

She laughed, and joined him on the balcony, followed by Gwen and Kevin. "Quite easily, actually. The guy who owned it wanted to be rid of it pronto, and he's friend's with Taylor's Grandfather. He knew we needed to find a house, and we were on a budget, and said that provided we do all the sorting and decorating and stuff ourselves, he'd knock a few digits off the price." She quoted a final figure, and Kevin whistled.

"Dude! That's incredible,"

"I know!" she patted him on the shoulder. "And you know what the best thing is?"

"What?"

"With the deeds to this house we also get right of way to the small pier," she pointed into the trees. "See, _just_ through there? I don't know if it's visible from up here, but we effectively own this little pier. We can go kayaking in the summer and everything!"

"Can't I just come up here and live with you?" he asked, all of them knowing that he'd never get his way.

"No," River poked him in the chest, making him laugh. "I'm bored of you already. Well then!" she clapped her hands together loudly and went back inside. "Lunch, anyone?"

XOXOX

Kevin still felt in awe of the place, even after they had – in Mikey's words – _Wombled _everything up and brought it inside. The tent was stashed in a corner of the main living area, where they were all sat on assorted beanbags and upturned boxes, and eating out of mismatched bowls with various bits of cutlery that all had different handles. Taylor and River were trying to organise the next day, which would consist of sorting out the rest of the junk in the house before they even considered bringing stuff in.

"That crap in the attic has to go," Taylor said through a mouthful of cheesy pasta.

"Yeah, I had a look at the desk this morning. There's no way it can be salvaged."

"What do you want us to do?" Mikey asked, scraping the last bit of melted cheese from the bottom of his bowl, after a third helping.

"Just lift and carry." Taylor shrugged, rubbing his forearm. He'd forgotten sun block that day, and he'd been out in the sun for almost all of it, so he had lovely painful burns up and down his arms.

"I don't think I can help with that," River grimaced, rubbing her belly unconsciously. "I've been cramping up like you wouldn't_ believe…_"

Gwen was tracing patterns in the walls with her eyes; Kevin watched the green of her irises dart from side to side in a sequence that repeated itself as she slowly turned her head. Kevin was just finding everything fascinating so far, and started pestering River with a million questions. She grinned, and answered most of them: yes, they would be going fishing and swimming and most probably kayaking; and no, they wouldn't go hunting Grizzly Bears; and _shut up_ we're not discussing how to plot for Ben and Steph's demise and make it look like an accident.

"I am," River rubbed her eyes eventually and yawned widely after Taylor came back from doing the washing up. "Dog tired." She leant against his shoulder. "I think I'll go to bed,"

"I'll see you up there," Taylor kissed her cheek, and they all said goodnight as River tottered over to the door. "I'd say watch some TV," he said apologetically. "But we don't have one,"

"We can amuse ourselves!" Mikey grinned, falling onto his back and staring at the ceiling. "Hey Gwen,"

"What?" she asked, tilting her head back to look at the wall behind her.

"I Spy, avec _my_ little eye…"

Kevin buried his face in his beanbag and tried to shut him out. He looked up when Taylor tapped him on the shoulder.

"Good night. Be brave, soldier," he laughed at Kevin's scowl before following after River.

Subjected to Mikey and Gwen's rousing round of 'I Spy' using naught but their wits and the limited objects in the room, Kevin felt himself sinking deep into despair, until Mikey's laughter finally cut through the fog.

"Hey, Kevin!" he giggled.

"_What_?" he was _so_ going to beat the guy to a pulp for this…

"I only mentioned French politics, and poof!" he flashed his hands in emphasis. "She fell asleep, just like that!" he grinned down at Gwen's unconscious form. "How awesome am I? I'll have to make a note of that for the next time she starts yelling at me…"

Kevin shuffled over and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "Mmmph!" her hand rose of its own accord and swatted him away; she rolled onto her other side and snuggled into her beanbag.

"I think bed might be a good idea considering the time difference," Mikey checked his watch. "We've been up longer than normal."

"Yeah, yeah," Kevin said vaguely, wondering how they were going to sort out sleeping arrangements. By mutual consent, they wanted the attic room, but they had merely dumped their belongings up there before coming back down to eat…

"I'll go deal with the sleeping bags," Mikey dragged himself to his feet and lumbered to the door.

Kevin looked down at Gwen's sleeping form and felt a smirk split across his face. "Hey," he cooed playfully, wrapping his arms around her. "Gwen!"

She made a noise at the back of her throat in objection, and feebly protested when he lifted her into his arms. Kevin carried Gwen upstairs to the attic, where Mikey had kicked the airbeds into place and was stowing the pump.

"Bloody _stupid_…" he muttered darkly to himself when it wouldn't go back in its box.

Kevin laid Gwen down on the bed and set about tugging a couple of blankets from the bottom of another kit bag.

"In retrospect," Mikey said, joining in the tug-of-war. "We should have packed this on the _top_,"

"Too late now," Kevin snarled as he gave on last tug. He managed to keep his balance, but poor Mikey went flying and hit the far side of the bed Gwen was lying on. "Watch it!" Kevin bowled him out of the way.

Gwen jumped at the shock, but instead of getting up and having a hissy fit she curled into a tight ball and mumbled something inaudible. Kevin couldn't help but laugh at her; Mikey rolled his eyes dramatically and kicked his back leg forward, spinning on the spot and falling to the floor. He phased at the last moment and landed as a wolf with a thud.

"Night…" he droned.

Kevin threw a spare pillow at him.

"Piss off…"

Gwen growled something and hit Kevin with her own pillow before curling into a ball again.

"Hey!" Kevin protested, diving to her side and wrapping his arms around her, squishing her into a little ball beneath the blanket. "That wasn't very nice!" he stage whispered.

"Get…off!" Gwen tried to twist out of his grasp, but failed. They both knew she could be rid of him with the flick of a finger and a well-chosen spell, but she didn't; she was either trying to be nice or too tired to care.

"What's the magic word?" Kevin grinned, nuzzling her visible cheek.

Gwen swore at him.

"Wow," he said blankly. "Didn't know you had it in you to swear."

"I hate you." she snapped.

He gave her a big, soppy kiss on the cheek, which irritated her further, and made him laugh. Something hit him in the back of the head, and he turned over to see Mikey glowering from across the room, another pillow dangling from his teeth.

"Shut. Up!"

Kevin made a rude hand gesture at him before rolling over, only to find Gwen was trying to crawl away from him.

"Hey!" he grabbed her arm and dragged her back to him. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"To sleep," she grumbled.

Kevin rolled her over so she was facing him, and she opened her eyes, narrowing them at him. "Don't you love me anymore?" he whined, giving her the puppy eyes look that sometimes worked.

"Nope," she closed her eyes again. "I hate you so much. That's why I decided not to go to Anodyne, so that I could let you know every minute of every day how much I hate you."

"I hate you too," he said conversationally. "I actually just want to sleep with your cousin, and this is the best way to get to him, so-"

"Eww!" Gwen sat up and pushed him away from her. "Don't ever say that again! Ben and…just no!" she pretended to vomit, and Kevin rolled onto his back, clutching his sides as he laughed at her.

"SHUT UP!" Mikey threw a bag at them, which Gwen deflected. "I'm tired and I'm cranky! You know what happens when I get cranky," he snarled.

Gwen mimicked Kevin's earlier hand gesture before snuggling up against his side. He laughed, and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"Kevin?" Gwen murmured after a few minutes of silence, and after Mikey started snoring.

"Yeah?"

"You know I was kidding when I said I hated you?"

He laughed. "I may not have book smarts, but I'm not stupid."

"Love you…" she yawned widely.

"Thanks," he teased, "I love me too,"

Gwen slapped him feebly on the shoulder, but she was asleep by the time her hand slid down his side. He took it and raised it up to his lips.

"You have no idea," he told her softly, kissing her throat before closing his eyes to sleep too.

XOXOX

"Can we go to the IMAX!" Mikey begged as they drove past the Royal BC Museum.

"I heard the First Nations Exhibit is one of the best in Canada," Gwen said, reading a leaflet that had been left on the back seat.

"Not that I've seen every possible exhibit in America," River said, leaning around her seat in the front to look at them. "But it's the best I've seen on the continent."

"Woot," Kevin watched the trickle of people wondering up and down the harbour pathways, setting up shop for the day. "How long is this gonna take again?"

"Well, we left early," Taylor said, pulling onto a side road. "Should be back in Sooke by about one. Then we can have lunch," he drawled out the last word of each item on his list. "Wait for it to settle, go _swimming_…Hey!" he turned to River with a huge grin. "My uncle said that they spotted a pod of orcas further up north! Think we could get the boat out and go take a look?"

"Boat?" River blinked. Then, "We have a _boat_?"

"Yeah," he frowned. "Didn't Danny tell you?"

"No one tells me anything! World War Three could have broken out by now and _I_ wouldn't know about it!"

Kevin slumped against the window of the borrowed truck and sighed. "Can I go home now?" he asked the glass.

"Don't you want to go swimming?" Gwen asked.

"No. I want to sleep…" he also had a test on DNA Replication when he got back to Bellwood, but he had decided not to tell anyone that, especially his mother.

Thinking about her, conjured up more thoughts he'd rather let be for the moment, so he turned round and focused on Gwen instead.

"What's that?"

"The museum," she said, showing him. "I'd love to have a look! Here," she pointed to the natural history exhibit. "The displays are amazing!"

"Don't talk to her about it," Taylor nodded at River. "I get ear ache when she talks about prehistoric stuff.

"Did you know that most small therapods dinosaurs actually had feathers?" she said, smirking at his despair. "And that species such as T-rex actually hunted in groups?"

"Please," Mikey whined. "I don't want to think of Dr Animo and his screwed up dinosaurs…!"

"And that T-rex can see you even if you stand still?" River added.

"I thought Jurassic Park said that," Kevin began, but River shot him down.

"No! No no no! If you ever say that again I'll…I dunno, I'll beat you with this stick,"

"Hah!" Kevin barked. "You and _what_ stick?"

"This stick!" she pulled one out from under her seat – a long, gnarled specimen of wood with a carved bird at the end. "Ha_ha_!" she laughed at him. "Just kidding. _Never _say that again."

"What the hell! What's Garret's stick doing in here?" Taylor demanded.

"Chrissie," she said, as if it were an explanation. He sighed loudly at that.

"We're here, everyone out," he grumbled, pulling onto the sidewalk.

"Why can T-rex see?" Kevin asked, hanging over River's shoulder as she rummaged for a key in her pocket.

"Shoo!" she said playfully, pushing him out of the way. "I'll tell you! Just give me a sec,"

Before she could reach the front door of the little brick house, the guy they had seen on the web cam days before jumped over the threshold and pulled her into a bone-breaking hug.

"Bitch! You got some nerve, pissing off like this! How dare you! You owe me a full English breakfast!"

"Chris! I'm only forty minutes away!" she pushed him off and shoved him inside the house. "And don't swear in front of my kids! I have an example to uphold,"

"Ha!" Kevin laughed, following them closely.

Chris immediately pounced on Taylor when he entered the hallway, and River grabbed Gwen's wrist, leading her upstairs. "We'll let them have a banter for a bit," she said, eyeing Chris warily.

"So," Mikey leant against the frame of the last door on the landing, tapping his fingernails against a wooden plaque that read, 'BEWARE OF THE HONEY BADGER'. "How many new posters since I was last here?"

"Dunno," River shrugged, kicking the door open and going inside.

"What's a honey badger?" Kevin asked, hot on her heels.

"It's a small furry animal native to Africa." Mikey explained.

"That sounds like a cute name," Gwen said with a smile, which quickly became a frown when Kevin made a retching noise.

"They are the most vicious buggers I've ever met," River said, arms folded over her chest, chin cupped in her hand. "Okay…what do I need and what can I chuck?"

Kevin looked around, his interest caught. It was full of junk, not the crappy type that went with bad hygiene habits and sloppy lifestyles, but the nice, clean junk that one accumulates over time. There were two more guitars, one in its case and the other on a stand, cluttering up a corner with an upturned keyboard and amp. The walls were covered in shelves; one block almost completely exclusively fiction books, and the one around the desk and computer unit bore so many fact books, mostly for psychology, and a few on biology and palaeontology. Everything else was covered in knick-knacks – a small collection of glass animals, a number of wooden and stone carvings, many _many_ photo frames…

It was like an insight into River's history; it was fascinating.

"Okay," she said, lifting a box onto the bare mattress of the bed. "Mikey, could you get all the frames and put them in here for me? Gwen, you can help me decide which clothes to ditch. Kevin!" she grabbed a stack of paperback books from a pile by the guitar stand and thrust them into his hands. "You can be on charge of the music junk!"

"Yey," he said sarcastically.

They worked quickly and methodically through the room, and by midday the truck bed was stacked with boxes of objects, clothes, posters…and a few items that Chris and the other three housemates had forced onto River. She burst into tears before they left, hugging the fiercely and making them promise to come visit them soon. After a quick stop to dump the unwanted clothes and objects at the huge second-hand store down the road, they packed up again and went back to Sooke.

They had to drive through the village of T'souke, as they had earlier in the day when no one was up, but now at lunchtime the tracks and grass between the neat little houses were swarming with people, children mostly.

Mikey hung out the window, grinning and waving at them and calling to people he vaguely knew. When Gwen giggled and told him he looked like a demented raptor, Kevin suddenly remembered and poked River in the ribs.

"You didn't say why T-rex can see!" he accused.

"Oh yeah! Hang on a sec," she pulled a note pad and pen out and quickly scribbled something. "Look," she handed it over – a rough diagram of four skulls. "That's a T-rex and a Hadrosaur, and an antelope and a lion. See the eye sockets?"

"Yeah?" Kevin frowned, not sure what she was driving at.

"On the herbivores, the eyes are at the sides of the skull, so they have a wider range of sight to look for predators, and they can only see them properly is said predator moves. With me?"

"Yeah,"

"These two skulls," she tapped the lion. "The eyes face forward, and so does the T-rex. That means they have much better depth perception so they can gauge distance much better then their prey. And because they don't have that many animals preying specifically on them, they don't need the wider field of vision."

That had never occurred to Kevin. "Cool!"

"Darwinism in action," River grinned. "I love biology, especially evolution. Everything just makes complete sense when you look at it."

Once back at the house, they started ferrying the boxes indoors and into the living room before River started making lunch, and Taylor went off to get his own stuff from is parents house in the village. Larking around on the porch, Mikey and Kevin found a large wooden peg and a box that contained horseshoes.

Kevin drove the peg into the ground and they took it in turns to throw the horseshoes. Mikey started off missing badly, but rapidly got closer to the marker – Kevin won more often than lost, but they had fun pushing each other around when one of them missed and the other laughed.

"What's all the noise?" Gwen asked from the front door, coming to see what they were doing.

"Hey Gwen!" Mikey waved from the ten feet of dirt between them. "Come and have a go, its fun!"

"Yeah," Kevin chimed in when it looked as though she would decline. "Unless you're afraid to be out done by someone with more natural special awareness!"

Gwen glared at him and snatched the horseshoe from Mikey's hand and epically missed the mark in her anger. It ended in a dog pile after Gwen threw the horseshoe at Kevin and Mikey pounced on her, making them all collapse in a heap.

"Hey!"

"You started it!"

"Mikey you weigh a _tonne_!"

"Come and get it while it's hot!" River shouted over them.

Mikey jumped to his four feet and raced to the veranda, shrieking, "Food!" at the tops of his lungs.

Kevin threw his head back and laughed. "Spack," he sniggered as Mikey ran through the front door.

"Remind me again," Gwen said, slowing sitting up and straightening her tank top. "Why I'm friends with you?"

XOXOX

It was a question she often asked, never really expecting a proper answer – it was rhetorical, and designed to irritate and annoy her friends just as they irritated her, not to spark a response.

So when Gwen turned her head to give Kevin the full effect of her glare, she didn't expect him to be so close, or to press his lips against hers so forcefully all of a sudden.

Gwen lost the balance she had been keeping with her left hand planted on the ground behind her, and fell back against the dry dirt with a surprised squeak. Kevin hovered over her, a hand placed on the ground beside her, the inside of his wrist against the skin just above her hip where her shirt had ridden up somewhat. He kissed her again, briefly, before rolling onto his back and jumping to his feet.

Kevin ran after Mikey to the door, and nearly flattened River in haste for free food.

"In your own time!" River laughed, waving Gwen over. She said the Japanese word for _go_, twisting the pronunciation in an odd way.

Slowly, Gwen pulled herself to her feet, heart still skipping, and sidled over to the veranda. "I don't think it's pronounced that way," she said, feeling quite dazed.

River shrugged, leaning against the lintel. "Our grand master said it that way. But I can't pronounce the numbers right either – I mince them up between four and seven," they walked into the kitchen together. "That part of my brain that held the memory for pronouncing them right got destroyed, along with a few other things I can't do anymore."

"Like what?" Normally, Gwen would be a bit more sensitive towards the subject of horrendous car crashes to the victims face, but River was very open about it all the time so she never felt worried about upsetting her.

"Perfect pitch," River checked them off on her fingers. "I had to retrain myself to play guitar, I'll never be as good as I was before," Gwen snorted softly at this – the way Kevin went on you'd think she was the Celtic Goddess of music or something. "Flying RC planes and helicopters…and juggling."

"You juggle?"

"The past tense being the operative," River dumped a ladleful of stew into a bowl and handed it to her. "It's like my mind remembers how to do it but my body doesn't. Eat that up before Mikey knifes you for it,"

True, by the time Gwen had eaten half her stew, Mikey had had thirds, and then hovered over her shoulder with a big Cheshire grin on his face and said, "You sure you want to eat all that?"

"Yes," she said stubbornly, hunching her shoulders over her bowl and taking a deliberate spoonful.

"Don't you want to watch your weight?" he asked conversationally. "Cause I heard a girl at Mr Smoothies – bottle blonde bitch," he added unnecessarily. "Could see that a _mile_ off – and she was saying how incredibly fat you are and all, and how you're never gonna fit into your prom dress!" he pulled a mockingly horrified expression that made Kevin howl with laughter. "Oh the humanity!"

"Shut up," she snapped, thinking of Lola. "I'm having growth spurts, I need to eat."

"But surely you don't need _that_ much?" Mikey wheedled.

Gwen downed the rest of her stew before he could throw himself at her – it was a miracle she didn't choke, but some of it trickled down her chin, which she wiped onto the back of her hand. "Mine," she said, scooping the last dregs up in her spoon and swallowing quickly.

"Bitch!" Mikey whacked her playfully round the head. "You don't love me anymore!"

"I never loved _you_ in the first place," she snarled back.

"Aww," Kevin leant over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, dragging her to him.

Gwen squeaked in surprise and dropped her bowl, not sure what he was trying to pull.

"It's okay, Gwen! It's not your fault you'll forever be so tiny and helpless! You don't have to lie about having a growth spurt,"

She glowered at him from under his elbow.

"We love you," he bundled her up into a ball against his chest and buried his nose in her hair. "Just the way you are – small in insignificant!"

Gwen lashed out with a manna ball and he dropped her onto the floor with a thud – both boys cackling with laughter. Before she could get back up and retaliate, River stuck her head over the top of the kitchen counter and said, "Sorry, I was under the impression I had a trio of highschoolers in my house, not a pack of hyenas." She leant against the counter, propped up on her elbows. "My house…" she said in a dreamy voice. "Wow. That has _such_ a nice ring to it…"

"WWHEEEE!" Mikey crowed, bouncing into the kitchen. "Can I be Mad Uncle Mikey?"

"No," River grinned, turning her back on Gwen and Kevin to bang pots and pans around in the sink. "You're the new Mad Mike – you've replaced Michael Cowston."

"I don't _want_ a cockeye!" he whined.

Gwen stood up, dusted herself off, and stalked off to the doorway.

"Hey, wait!" Kevin scrambled after her.

"I am _so_ not talking to you!" she snarled, not looking back. She conjured a shield over the door, and allowed herself a satisfied smirk when she heard an 'oof!' as he ran straight into it.

"No fighting inside," River said in a bored voice. Then, more energetically. "Don't forget your swimsuit! I'll take you up to the potholes later,"

"Yes!" Mikey was still dancing the victory jive when Gwen came back down fifteen minutes later.

Kevin shot her a sulky look, and turned his back on her. Gwen couldn't help herself, and laughed at him before creeping up behind him and throwing her arms around his waist.

"You're so easy to wind up!" she giggled.

"You sure are annoying for someone so tiny," he grumbled.

"Kiss and make up later!" Mikey grabbed her hands and pulled her towards the front door. "Rave time! Potholes, here we come!"

XOXOX

**Got a bit carried away there xD hopefully the next post will be much faster ;)**

**As always, reviews/comments/suggestions/anything useful in general is greatly appreciated! :D**

**xxx **


	38. Totem Spirit

**AN:** **Yey I managed to update sooner as opposed to later! :D**

**This was supposed to be mildly serious but it just got silly towards the end xD the next chapter will be more serious, promise! ;)**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

_**Totem Spirit**_

The potholes was a lot of fun; Taylor drove them all the way up to the top where people didn't normally go, so Kevin was free to not wear the ID Mask. Mikey went absolutely ballistic and started running around in circles through the mud and the water, shouting like a little kid. River grinned as well, and conjured up her little blue butterflies made from sparkling light, and they all chased them through the water until Kevin overstepped and didn't see the depth of the pool until he was underneath the surface. Mikey had to drag him out – much to his disgrace – kicking and spluttering and in need of a good thump on the back to expel the excess water in his lungs.

The next couple of days were much the same; some lifting and shifting and organising in the mornings, followed by fun activities in the afternoon – Gwen got to see the museum exhibits, Mikey got to see his precious IMAX, and Kevin learnt how to fish native style. He was really enjoying himself, until something happened that shook him up a little bit.

A day or so before Steph and Ben were due back from their 'mission'; they met another member of the T'souke community. Mikey already knew most of them, and Gwen and Kevin had met two of Taylor's brothers, and his sister – they were all great fun, much like Lea and Steph, and Kevin could see why River was so good at handling Mikey, as Chrissie was just as excitable.

After lunch, River was sitting on the porch with Gwen, teaching her how to knit. Taylor was off doing his thing and trying to blag his way through an interview at the museum for an art exhibit, so Mikey and Kevin were left to their own devises with a half flattened soccer ball and the patch of grassless dirt. They stopped to look up at the sound of feet on the pathway, and a young man walked out of the shadows of the surrounding trees.

Kevin tilted his head to one side, frowning at him. He was very tall and slender, with his head held high and a single, fat plait of black hair hanging down his right shoulder, a long thick stick in his hand that he held at an angle to the ground.

"Who the hell is that?" Kevin shot at River, not taking his eyes from the man.

River looked up, seeking his point of focus, and grinned. "Garret!"

The man didn't falter in his steps, but turned his head towards the sound of her voice, smiling as he changed his course. "Hey, Flow!" he called.

River jumped to her feet and ran to meet him, flinging her arms around him and laughing loudly. "Oh my God, I haven't seen you in ages!" she held him out at arms length and he dropped the stick in his hands to grip the inside of her elbows instead. "How was Toronto?"

"Dull," he shrugged, still smiling. "The diagnosis was Medical Miracle. Again. I'm sorry I didn't come down earlier,"

"No, that's fine! Really," she said, turning and waving the others over. "I have some friends over from America."

"I'd like to meet them," he bent down to pick up his stick, but River beat him to it. Then, she took his arm and tucked it up against her side and led him towards the house. "I can do that myself, you know." He spoke politely, in a tone tinged with minor irritation.

"You don't know the ground here," she shot back, patting the back of his hand. "Besides! You know me, I'm always being a nuisance,"

The man chuckled, and Kevin started when he saw Gwen walking forward to meet them. Even without his mask on, Kevin ran after her and threw himself in the way before he could do anything. Gwen made a little noise of annoyance at the back of her throat, and River raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Guys, this is Garret. He's from the other end of the Rez," River introduced him.

Kevin was shocked when he finally got a good look at the man's face; it had the same broad features as Taylor's – like most the people in this tribe, only his nose was quite crooked, as though he'd broken it a few times in the past. His skin was the same sort of copper, russet colour, and his hair was as thick and shiny – there were no lines on his face to suggest age, but he carried an aura of deep-rooted wisdom about him, and a quiet sort of confidence that undermined Kevin's own, which sometimes left him lacking in self esteem anyway. But that wasn't what struck him the most.

It was the eyes.

They were clearly supposed to be a dark brown, like the other people on the Reservation that Kevin had met so far, but they were covered in a thick milky film that seemed to hold the irises in place, never deviating from their position that looked dead ahead. It was creepy to look at, unnerving, just…plain unnatural.

"Garret," River went on as though there was nothing disturbing about him. "This is Gwen and Kevin. Mikey's here too,"

"Hey, Mikster!" Garret called.

Mikey bounced over and hugged him round the middle. "How's it hanging?"

"Quite well," he smiled, ruffling the boy's hair – his eyes still remaining fixed in position though his head and body turned.

"Tee hee!" Mikey giggled, and River poked him in the ribs.

"Shush!"

"Now then," Garret turned unexpectedly and grabbed Kevin's hand. "Kevin, was it?" his shake was firm, direct…as unnerving as his eyes.

"Err…hi," Kevin blinked uncertainly. He'd met a blind guy once in the Null Void, and that had been just plain creepy. It was fairly obvious that Garret had no sight, but he still managed to gauge the distance needed to reach for Kevin's hand, and known where he was standing.

"Garret," he said again, looking straight through him with a smile. "And Gwen?" he took a step forward and brushed Kevin aside before taking Gwen's hand in both of his. "A pleasure to meet your acquaintance,"

"You too," she smiled back, apparently nowhere near as unsettled as Kevin.

"And yes," River patted the man on the shoulder and shook her head condescendingly. "Garret here is completely blind. That's probably the only endearing feature he's got!"

"Flow is quick to criticise where she herself lacks," Garret grinned, still inclined towards Gwen.

"These two bicker more than me and Steph," Mikey said conversationally. "Now then!" he clapped his hands together and sprang off to the front door of the house. "I'm going to be very British and put on some tea!"

"Earl Grey's in the tin under the sink!" River called after him. "Come inside,"

Garret had to be led, and River chastised him for wondering down this far by himself, claiming that he could have been eaten by a bear and no one would have known for hours. And then what would she do without him! – but of course, someone would have noticed, as he calmly pointed out, and that she was just making a mountain out of a molehill.

Kevin followed and watched him like a hawk. He didn't know why, but he felt the need to keep an eye on this man – sure, no one ever suspected the blind guy! It made him feel even more stupid when Gwen gave him a series of filthy looks before dragging him into the hallway to bite his head off.

"For goodness sake!" she hissed. "You really think River would let him into her home if he was going to attack her?"

"There's something dodgy about him!" he hissed back, knowing he had no leg to stand on but fighting back anyway.

"You're just paranoid," Gwen accused, and stormed off without another word.

"She _does_ have a point," Mikey said quietly, slinking past to get to the kitchen. "Garret's a great guy – you just have to get used to his presence…"

Sulking, Kevin followed him back into the kitchen, where River said, "If you guys want to go do something else, Garret and I have a lot to catch up on."

"Like what, snogging?" Mikey teased, pouring himself a drink.

Garret tapped the back of his leg with his stick before turning to face Kevin with his sightless eyes. "River uses me as a test subject."

"For the last time," she rounded on him with the air of monotonous repetition. "You're _not_ my guinea pig!" she turned to Kevin herself and said, eyes narrowed though her irritation was directed at Garret, "He's very spatially aware, and he has superb short term memory and great rehearsal processes. And I can blow a lot of theories about how cognitive memory works out of the water. Plus he's very perceptive,"

Garret dramatically rolled his head as a substitute for rolling his eyes and sighed loudly, "Guinea pig."

River made a sound of exasperation and started poking him continuously in the ribs. "This playing field is even! Blind guy against the pregnant cripple,"

"You always were a pain, weren't you Flow?" he laughed, pretending to beat her back with his stick.

Kevin took the opportunity to scuttle off outside with Mikey and they continued to kick the ball around for a bit behind the house. When Kevin kicked it so hard it went flying into the trees and they didn't hear it hit the ground, Mikey sighed and turned to him.

"Look, I know Garret's kinda scary looking and all, but he's a good person. You get used to his creepy looking eyes after a while. He'd got a great sense of humour," he hedged.

"He just…" Kevin sighed, kicking a stone by his feet, not knowing what to say. "He reminds me of this guy I once knew. In the Null Void."

Mikey tactfully left it at that, and ran off to find the ball. Kevin was wondering what to do with himself in the mean time when he heard the sliding door of the ground floor move, and he ran for the cover of veranda that ended just round the corner from the door in a set of steps. He heard laughter, and apparently they both sat on the threshold and put their mugs down on the ground.

"That Kevin boy seemed a bit unnerved by my appearance," Garret said conversationally, making Kevin wince.

"He's had a lot to deal with in his life," River said quickly, almost heatedly, in his defence. "He's…oh, how do I put it?" he could imagine her kneading her forehead in her quest to find the right wording. "He doesn't like it when things spring upon him when he's feeling relaxed. When he's in a fight he can cope extremely well, but he hates being caught off guard."

"You always managed to get the youngsters down to a t." Garret commented.

"Mmm," she said. Then, "Mel's been giving me a hard time over him."

"How so?"

"Cause apparently its so painfully apparent that I'm his spirit guide and blah blah blah."

"We're so articulate today."

"Shut up."

"Want to hear my thoughts?"

"Oh do tell," she said in mock sarcasm. "No really, I'm curious." She insisted when he laughed.

"He's got a strong bond with someone here. Well, a few really. I'm assuming Gwen's his girlfriend?"

Wow. Was he so blatant about their relationship that even a _blind_ man had seen it?

"Yes. I don't think I've ever seen a person so besotted in my entire life,"

"Taylor's pretty smitten with you too. Or hadn't you noticed?"

"Getting back to the conversation at hand," River said quickly, and Kevin had to stifle a snigger. "What do you think? Miley thinks I have a divine right to start dishing out totems. I don't think I'm qualified for that yet…"

"Let's just strip you down and bathe you in Grizzly blood – we can go from there…"

After a pause in which Kevin imagined the withering look Garret was receiving. "I don't know what's more disturbing. You stripping me down or the image of a bath full of blood. Because trust me, I've seen enough blood to last me the next three lifetimes. And both of those things are just too disturbing on too many levels to count."

"So…you want _me_ to deign totems? We already know Mikey,"

"Yeah, yeah. Little Otter. I think hyper would be better in all honesty, but…"

"You've given this a great deal of thought, haven't you?"

"Well…I've got Ben down," she said dubiously. "He's Gwen's cousin, he's not here at the moment. I think he's a frog,"

Kevin had to stuff his hand into his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. After all those times Steph had teased him about looking like a wide mouthed tree frog! And all along River had agreed! He could hug and kiss her if that wouldn't be so inappropriate considering her position over them as 'emotional support' technician (Lea spent a few too many hours making up nicknames for everyone…)

"How so?"

"He's very adaptive, good at changing to suit the situation. Not always good with other people, but you know… That's youth for you, his head will deflate sooner or later and he'll become a responsible adult."

Oh River, she obviously didn't know Benny Boy very well at all.

"That Gwen…" Garret trailed off, and Kevin's attention was instantly focused on his voice. "She has a very interesting presence to her."

River laughed. "She's a very special person," she agreed.

"It's almost like an attractive force." Garret mused.

"What do you mean?"

"Its like…hang on, let me think,"

They all waited for his response – River in quiet contentment, and Kevin bursting with impatience.

"I suppose, the best way to describe her would be that, she inspires love."

"Wow. That's…such a good way of putting it,"

Kevin felt his jaw drop, but he was too focused on listening to really care until he saw Gwen walking across the patchy grass from the corner of his eye. She was making her way to the tiny pier just out of sight behind the trees – she smiled and waved at River and Garret as she passed, but she didn't notice Kevin skulking in the shadows.

"She's feisty, and sometimes has a bit of a temper on her," River admitted, and Kevin smiled, nodding in agreement. "But that's understandable, given that she spends a lot of time with her cousin…Steph as well, that's enough to make anyone's blood boil from time to time! Gwen has a heart of gold. So does her cousin, its just a shame his ego gets in the way sometimes."

"She's like a hummingbird." Garret said suddenly, making Kevin think of the sketch he had done, loafing between the pages of his sketchbook underneath the backseat of his car. "Very delicate, but capable of such great feats. Another symbol of love."

"I _know_ Native American symbolism. I haven't spent the last five years of my life around you guys for nothing, you know."

"And that Kevin of yours is like another wolf. A lost little pup, in need of-"

"Okay, stop right there! I don't need everyone telling me how I'm mothering everyone to death! Kevin's a nice guy and he needs help and guiding once in a while, like _most_ teenagers do. And I do consider him as a friend. Which, considering my standing within the Plumber's hierarchy, is deemed unprofessional, but-"

"That's just how you roll."

"Exactly! Would I get the kids in my care to do _half_ the things I want them to if we didn't have a good relationship? Respect works both ways, and if you have their respect, you can help them so much more!"

"That, and you just attach yourself to people. You're not an Alpha, by any means – you've never been aggressive enough, and you're always willing to jump out of the limelight the moment you can. You're more of a Beta."

"Spare me a lecture…"

"You like being on the front lines and helping, but you're not a cast iron leader."

"Err, s'cuse me? I think I _know_ who I am. You know, that's why I went travelling? See the world? Learn through experience and find my place in the grand scheme of things, so on and so forth?"

"And the first step to helping someone else find who they are is to know yourself." Garret reasoned.

"I'm disobedient, I cave a bit too easily, I'm too meek when I'm the one being attacked and too vicious when it's my friends and family, and I have a nasty habit of undermining authority when I see its flaws."

"You left all the bad parts out!"

There was a dull thump, like she had smacked him playfully round the back of the head. They both laughed over it.

"You're also a great nurturer. And you've seen so much that you can relate to most people – and you inspire great trust in those around you, the ones who see you for your true worth."

"Stop it, you're making me blush," River teased. "Either I take to someone straight away or I don't. I thought you were great fun when I first met you,"

"Flowing River," Garret laughed. "You always were a great singer. Anyways," he grunted as he got to his feet. "I'd better get going. My sister doesn't know I got back from the airport yet."

"Want me to walk you back?"

"Just to the path. I know the way from there."

"If you insist…"

"I do,"

"You," she said accusingly, their voices slowly moving away. "Are insufferable."

"I don't do well with big words…"

Kevin sat and pondered what he'd just heard until River startled him out of his musings by clearing her throat.

"Gah!" he nearly tripped over his own feet, and stood up wildly to find her leaning against the wooden walls of the house, cool as you please and inspecting her nails.

"I'm not stupid, you know." she said conversationally. "I grew up with five brothers," she poked him hard on his collarbone, making him wince despite being composed of minerals. "Stealth is my middle name. Don't think you can sneak round and eavesdrop without me knowing," her playful grin lessened the blow somewhat. "Go on, get out of here," she added, ruffling his hair and shooing him down the steps.

Mikey arrived a few moments later, looking sheepish. "I sort of lost the ball…"

"Don't worry," River told him. "I think there's a rugby ball in the-"

He was gone before she'd even finished speaking.

"Oh dear. I'd better go make sure the house doesn't fall down. Ask Gwen if she wants to go kayaking later!"

Kevin snuck up to the pier – a tiny, narrow, rickety thing that you couldn't moor anything to – and tried to furtively get close to Gwen, but she said out loud as she turned the pages of her book, "I know you're there." By her tone, she was still irritated with him.

"Sorry," he mumbled, dropping down beside her and staring into the clear depths of the water; he could see the tangle of seaweed two feet below.

"I always know when you're sneaking up on me," Gwen said in an effectively neutral tone. "I've been hanging out with you so much the last few months that I can track your manna without even thinking about it."

Woot. "River said you wanna go kayaking later?"

"Okay," she turned a page, still not looking at him.

Okay! This was getting annoying now. "Sorry," he blurted out for pissing her off earlier. He didn't add the _pay attention to me!_ he really wanted to say.

"Apology accepted," she said vaguely, still giving her full attention to her book.

Kevin waited for what felt like forever.

"So?"

"So what?" she turned a page.

He grabbed the book and held it far behind him before she could even blink.

"Hey!" Gwen turned on him, eyes blazing.

It took a moment for Kevin to register her exasperation because what he'd heard Garret say was stuck in his mind.

She inspires love…

Gwen slapped him across the shoulder and flattened him in her quest to get her book back, and stormed off back to the house. Kevin followed at a sedate pace, mentally cataloguing in his mind and making a note to go and ask Steph subtle questions. She was so blunt herself she wouldn't even notice it if he gently pummelled her for information.

While River planned out a route for them to follow that would loop back to Sooke well before nightfall, and Mikey ran around trying to help her organise life jackets and other useful objects, Kevin perched himself on an upturned fruit crate and watched Gwen, comparing the index he'd just compiled in his mind.

Needless to say, Gwen Tennyson was very pretty. Kevin would have insisted to anyone she was beautiful – but that made it all too clear he'd gone soft and gooey on the inside, and that would open up a weak link in his armour to any old business associates out to even the score. He'd _never_ forgive himself if something happened to her.

But it wasn't just Kevin; Mikey had made a passing comment once at Mr Smoothies as Gwen went to dump Ben's trash in the bin about how Kevin must have to beat all the suitors back with a frying pan. There were a few people here and there along the road that had shown an interest – Mike Morningstar for one. Kevin really wanted to say that it was because instinctively he knew Morningstar was bad news, that he'd known straight away that he was dangerous, and should have fought harder to keep Gwen away from him.

The plain and simple truth that he'd come to accept, was that he'd been jealous.

Then there were random people he mostly didn't remember…Cooper was one of them, but he had nothing to fear from the kid – it was bigheaded and arrogant of him to think it, but he knew there was no competition there. He also felt quite bad for accusing Mikey in the first place…the guy was crazy, annoying, but completely harmless.

Gwen was just so…was there even a way that adequately explained it? Kevin could pin down a few specific points about her, that meant the world to _him_, but of course he couldn't know if anyone else saw her exactly the way he did.

It _could_ have been her physical appearance; he liked her incredibly fair skin, the way it contrasted with her vivid red hair – not an orangey ginger hue nor the blatantly dyed colour you saw some girls wearing where it didn't suit their skin type at _all_. And those eyes; the brightest green he'd ever seen on a person – they went beautifully with her hair. And then there was her stature, so small and delicate…and in proportion – what could he say? He was a guy, a teenager, how could he _not_ notice her general shape? Of course his eyes wondered further down than was considered polite in public from time to time, and he noticed the curvature of her hips in relation to the rest of her body.

Right now, Gwen was sat cross-legged on a tatty old beanbag, leaning against her hand, support by her elbow on her knee, carefully turning the pages of her book as she read – expression that of complete rapture as she read further into the story. Her eyes were bright and keen with interest, like when they met someone during the course of their missions who could tell her some new and wonderful scientific fact…

And then there was the personality side of it all, too. Gwen loved to learn; she was always the smart one – exceedingly well read. And she was just so neat and organised…! It was a miracle Kevin could motivate himself out of bed first thing on a Monday! And Gwen always had an incentive for everything, it was a bit creepy a lot of the time, if he was honest…

And, of course, there was that warmth and kindness she possessed, that she gave him… And possibly more surprisingly, after having wished his whole life to be treated just like everyone else, he _liked_ the special treatment she gave him – liked being treated differently. It was stupid and childish, but she made him feel like he was worth the bother and hassle he brought with him – he _liked_ feeling special, just for her.

Mikey fell dramatically onto the floor beside the beanbag, and groaned loudly as the lifejackets spilled onto the floorboards around him.

Gwen didn't bat an eyelid.

"I _said_," Mikey sat up to clear his throat before throwing himself onto the floor again with much vigour. "Nargh!"

Still nothing – Kevin sniggered loudly.

"Don't ignore me!" Mikey whined, and pounced.

Gwen had just enough time to drop her book and throw her hands up to protect her face before the huge wolf jumped on her. They both tumbled onto the floor behind the beanbag in a heap, and Kevin just pointed and laughed.

"Mi-_key!_" Gwen struggled to get out of the tangle of his gangly legs, but he nabbed a mouthful of her shirt and pulled her back. "Let go!"

"No!" he grinned, pinning her to the floor with his forepaws and licking her face.

When this hilarity continued for a few minutes, Kevin got up and calmly grabbed Mikey by the ear and wrenched it back. He yelped loudly and rolled to avoid the pain, right out of Kevin's way so he could help Gwen to her feet.

"Eww…" she complained, wiping the wolf spit from her face. "Lupus cooties!"

Mikey barked with laughter, and rolled onto his side, looking at them both over his shoulder, tail beating rhythmically against the floor – for all the world like an overly large house dog.

Kevin was grinning and laughing as well, until Gwen wiped the spit onto his arm.

"Gross!" he complained, wiping it in her hair.

"Hey!"

"I'm not a towel!" he reminded her, chasing her towards the sliding glass door.

"Kevin!" she shrieked, trying to escape him through the narrow slit between door and lintel.

Mikey yapped loudly, and bounced after them – it came down to River blowing a whistle shrilly before throwing it at Kevin's head after about ten minutes of a free for all. She rolled her eyes and threw her hands into the air in despair and said loudly, "One mess into another! I quit! I'm moving back to England and I'll live in Plymouth working the bar at the sailing club! And then…" but she'd already taken her rant inside.

Kevin buried his face between Gwen's shoulder blades, laughing with her as Mikey got to his feet and started prancing around, singing something in Lupus.

"Alright!" Taylor burst through the door and threw a paddle at Mikey, making him fall over. "Paddle time! Everyone to your boats!"

Mikey phased, stood up and struck a pose. "Wait, stop!" he shouted, making Taylor pause as he drew his arm back to throw another paddle to Kevin. "_Paddle time_!" he crowed, and started his own version of the hammer dance, incorporating his paddle.

"O…kay." Taylor, instead of throwing the paddle walked over to Kevin calmly and handed it over. "Well, _he_ can have his little dance fest and all…" he grinned, holding out both his hands – Kevin grabbed one, Gwen grabbed the other, and dragged them to their feet. "Let's go! Before the tide goes out,"

His childish enthusiasm was infectious, and Gwen laughed, running after him towards the water's edge, and Kevin grinned at her happiness, likewise following after Taylor.

It took a full twenty minutes for Mikey to realise that they'd abandoned him, and apparently, judging by the looks Chrissie gave him right before she burst out laughing when they got back, she'd been the one to point it out to him while she was babysitting River.

XOXOX

Mikey sniggered, feeling vastly superior to Kevin.

The older boy was all but clinging to River's arm and begging her to go back to Bellwood with them. She smiled a little artificially and gently detached him from her.

"I love you guys too, so very much! But I have stuff here that needs my attention. I'll come back before you all break up for the summer, promise,"

Kevin held up his hand, fingers curled over except for his pinkie. "Promise?"

River raised her own hand and mimicked his gesture. "What did I just say?"

Mikey noticed Gwen standing within the clearing where the house stood, staring up at it. He grinned evilly to himself and snuck up behind her, giving her a playful dig beneath her ribs. Gwen yelped and jumped about a foot in the air, and he laughed at her.

"Hey, wa_ssup_?" he grinned at her scowl. "Little Red?" he added.

"I'll miss it here," she said, looking back up at the house.

"Yeah," Mikey leant against the nearest tree, drinking in T'souke for the last time in…who knew for how long? "Sooke's very peaceful. It's much nicer here on the island than it is on the mainland. Just ask River, she _hates_ Vancouver city!"

"Mount up!" River called from behind the trees.

"Home time!" Mikey grabbed Gwen by the elbow and dragged her back to the ship.

Hugs ensued, and River promised again to come and see them _very_ soon – and she shooed them onto the ship. "Take care! Eat your vegetables," she rattled off her list. "Stay in school! Tip your waitresses, and all that jazz…"

"Bye!" Mikey crowed, jumping up and down before Kevin and Gwen bundled him inside. "I wasn't done yet!" he complained loudly as they took off.

It was a dull flight back to Bellwood, but Mikey managed to liven it up a bit by finding a USB port on the control panel and plugging his MP3 player in. They were home about half an hour before Steph and Ben, and when they did arrive with Max in tow, Steph threw herself at Kevin and whooped loudly.

"Guess what! Guess what guess what guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat!" she shook him by the shoulders, making him look dizzy.

"What!" he shouted at her when she stopped to draw breath.

It was then that Mikey noticed she was a complete and utter _mess_. Hair was burnt in places, braids and beads and feathers all mangled, and a nasty looking bruise that was very, _very_ slow healing by her standards whipped across her cheek bones, just under her left eye.

"Jesus Christ, Steph!" Mikey took a handful of matted, filthy hair and tugged gently. "What the bloody hell happened to you?"

Steph squealed like a little girl, making the boys fling their hands over their ears momentarily, and gabbled something none of them could understand.

"Come again?" Mikey said civilly, just as Kevin took on that murderous look.

"Bengotthrownoutairlock!" Steph said, shaking them both hard, grinning like an idiot.

"Again!" Kevin said, punching her in the gut. "But this time in _English_!"

"Ben," she said slowly, as though she were talking to someone who was not mentally competent. "Was. _Thrown_. Out of. The. _Air_ _lock_."

It took a moment for this news to sink in, but then all three of them were clinging to each other for support, all but wetting themselves with laughter.

"Oh my god!"

"I don't believe it…"

"It was the funniest thing ever…!"

"_Who_ did that?" Kevin demanded to know.

Steph told them al about the amazingly-scary-and-oh-so-funny time they'd had on this 'mission', and Mikey noticed Ben stalking past unseen by the other two towards his house.

"Ben!" Gwen grabbed her cousin and hugged him. "I missed you!"

Ben snarled in response.

"What happened?" she asked, studying his bruised face.

He visibly shook for a moment, and then – unable to contain his anger – exploded in a vocal display of resentment.

"THEY THREW ME OUT THE AIR LOCK!"

That stopped the boys and Steph in their tracks. Mikey gave the other two a wide berth as he slunk out of their way. Steph kicked her right leg forward, and then dug her toes into the ground on the other side of her left foot, Arm propped against Kevin's shoulder, both wearing identical wicked smirks.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Kevin sneered as Steph widened her grin, bearing her teeth at Ben.

"Read my mind like a book, buddy." She said, tapping her fingernail against his shoulder.

Mikey grabbed Gwen's hand and scuttled into the shade beside the house. "It's gonna get ugly," he predicted.

Ben threw a spectacular temper tantrum at Steph and yelled, "I've had enough!" and slammed his clenched fist onto the dial of the omnitrix.

Nothing happened.

There was just enough time to shout out a rather vulgar curse word before Steph and Kevin charged at him.

Mikey closed his eyes and winced at the loud thud as they made contact. Two anvil-shaped fists and a huge bird on your back…wasn't the nicest welcome home present in the entire universe, he had to admit…

Looking down, he saw Gwen had her back to him, leaning against the wall with her forehead, tuning them all out.

"Hey," Mikey said, poking her in the back.

"What?" she said flatly.

"Fancy an ice cream?" he nodded further down the road where they could hear the lilting notes of an ice cream van rolling up and down the main road.

"Yes," she stood up straight, and smiled up at him, ignoring the fight going on behind them. "I would."

Mikey gave her his best cheeky grin and offered her his arm, bowing deeply and saying, "My lady…"

They linked arms and strolled down the street, ignoring Steph and Kevin as they caught up on much needed mischief – at Ben's expense.

XOXOX

"So…any ethereal crap?" Steph asked conversationally, picking dust off her favourite wrench.

They were in the workshop – just her and Kevin, for once, and they were working on resurrecting her jeep.

"Yeah," Kevin was on a board underneath the vehicle, banging the suspension back into place. "Pass me that wrench,"

Steph handed it over, and lay down on her stomach so she could watch what he was doing. "So?" she hedged. "What happened.

"Oh, you know," he said, grunting as he shifted around to try and get more leverage. "Can you jack the car up?"

Steph scrambled to get the jeep levitated enough for him to fix it, and flopped back down to the floor again. "Do tell," she grinned.

"Some weirdo blind guy-"

"Long black plait? Weird creepy white eyes?" she asked.

"Yup."

"Oh that's Garret. I like him," Steph grinned. "He's so much fun! This one time, we made a special set of Uno cards for him to play with – all written in Braille, see? So that-"

"_You_ wanted to know," Kevin snapped.

Steph rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine." She grumbled.

"Apparently, I've got a totem." Kevin went on.

"Huh? He gave you a totem?" that was big; Garret _never_ told you to your face like that!

"No. I overheard him and River talking."

"Did she say anything?" Steph frowned. River liked to be vague and cryptic like that…

"Just reminded me that she wasn't stupid and knew I'd been listening," Kevin grinned, getting a face full of oil moments later. Cursing, he wiped his face on the back of his hand and punched the underside of the jeep.

"My baby!" Steph screeched. "Don't hurt her!"

"Puh-_lease_!" Kevin said scathingly. "This thing should have gone on the trash heap _years_ ago. No offence," he added carelessly, waving her away vaguely.

"Oh, I so _did not_ miss you," she snapped. "Bitch."

"Slag."

"Man whore,"

"Co- wait, what?" he stared up at her in confusion. "How am _I_ a whore?"

"Dunno. Just felt like a thing to say," she shrugged before poking his arm. "What's your totem! _Tell me_!"

"Wolf," he said, looking straight up at the suspension above his head and tapping his cheek thoughtfully. "Apparently," he added, ripping a few nuts and bolts out.

"Huh," Steph slumped against the floor, bored of the subject already. "Figures. River's always said I'm more of a Phoenix than anything else. I _would_ say it's ironic, really," she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, cushioning her head with her hands. "But it's beyond that. It's just plain stupid, when you think about it…"

"I like the idea of being a wolf," Kevin was grinning, she could tell by the tone of voice, and she closed her eyes, grinning as well – glad to have her best friend back the way he used to be. "You know, roaming the wilds, standing alone. A Lone Wolf…" he said dreamily. "Yeah, that's more my style," he started beating the suspension again. "None of this team building crap."

Steph laughed, unable to help herself, and said, "Wolves don't actually roam _alone_. They're a _pack_ animal, Kevin. Emphasis on the group word!" she rolled onto her stomach again and peered underneath her jeep. "Ask any competent nature specialist! They'd die without each other – that's why they live in packs. They can't bring down prey on their own, so they hunt in groups to ensure they have enough food to survive."

Kevin gave her a withering look before rolling out from underneath the jeep. "I was _being_ facetious." He said primly.

"Woah," Steph stared p at him wide eyed, which threw him for a moment. She bounced to her feet and grabbed his shoulders, looking deeply into his eyes. "Kevin," she breathed, hardly daring to believe it.

"Err. What?" he blinked.

"That's such a big word!" she murmured.

Kevin punched her in the gut.

"I fancy fish and chips!" she said suddenly as her stomach grumbled.

"See ya," Kevin said vaguely, organising his tools on the tabletop and slowly picking the ones he'd need later.

Steph folded her arms over her chest and shifted her weight onto her back leg, hip stuck out at an odd angle considering her severe boniness. "Come _on_," she said, grabbing his arm and towing him outside. "You'll develop OCD at this rate. I'm hungry!" she wailed.

"I want my tool box!" Kevin fought her to get back to the workshop.

"Kevin," she sighed, letting him go and sweeping her hand over her face dramatically. "I never thought I'd have to resort to this, but…"

He stood there, tense and not knowing what she was doing.

Then she swooped down and grabbed him around the waist, before hefting him over her shoulder and running down the street.

"Hey!" he shouted, fighting back furiously, pummelling her spine. "PUT ME DOWN STEPH!"

"Never!" she cackled with glee.

Right before they rounded a corner and straight into someone. They fell in a heap, and Steph screamed loudly.

"It's like a bloody avalanche!" she croaked, as he kicked her out of the way.

"Look!" Kevin was on his feet almost instantly, and it took a moment for Steph to see what was wrong.

Ssssserpent, skulking in the shadows, watching them before noticing he'd been spotted and slithering off with all haste.

"Get him!"

They both ran after him, and Steph jumped into the air, phasing before she made a nosedive to peck his eyes out.

"No rest…" Kevin grunted, tackling him to the ground.

Steph landed on his head and started hammering the back of his skull with her beak. "For the wicked!" she added with a laugh as Kevin groaned at her.

She did so love being home again!

XOXOX

**Wooo yey randomness! xD And now, to go and write on a more serious note :)**

**Until then, have a nice day/week/holiday/thing/whatever!**

**xxx**


	39. Planning Ahead

**AN: just got back from a paper round xD I did finish this last night but I was reminded about having to get up early so I didn't post it. But now I am! :D**

**And do ignore the title…it equals fail in epic proportions but I couldn't think of anything else and it was delaying my update ;)**

**Enjoy! :D**

_**Planning Ahead**_

"Is it…animal?" Ben began.

"Nope." Steph picked at her broken nail dispassionately.

"…Vegetable?" he hedged.

"Mineral." Kevin put in.

"Yup," she waved her hand in the air and glowered at her broken nail. How dare it break on her like this!

"Sit up," her father said in a bored voice.

Steph obediently sat up straighter and let him tug at her hair. He was trying to fix the damage the rookies had done to her braids, and after her mother had fretted over her bruised appearance when she came home, she'd had her daughter's hair cut.

Three inches.

Three _bloody_ inches.

"Helium, Lithium," Ben started reciting the Periodic Table off by heart, and Steph and Kevin stared at him in amazement.

"He's got a good memory," Kevin said blankly, staring at their friend like he was sprouting another head from his neck.

"Yeah, but," Steph struggled to find the right words. "Who'd memorise the Periodic Table unless you wanted the atomic numbers and stuff _as_ well? That's the only thing its good for!"

"Oh, you wanted the atomic numbers as well?" Ben asked, and started rattling them off.

"Make it stop!" Kevin covered his eyes and pretended to cower in fear. "All this information…I can't take it!"

Steph pointed and laughed, and Ian grabbed a handful of hair and tugged. "Stop moving!"

"Sorry," she winced.

"You wanted me to guess!" Ben whined.

Steph sighed loudly. "You've used up you're twenty guesses anyway."

Ben glowered at her from across the room. She turned her back on him and let her father continue to braid her hair.

Well, it wasn't really proper braiding…he was forming delicate little plaits at strategic intervals through the many, _many_ layers in her hair – threading beads as he went before tying them off with blood red feathers. They were the colours of her Clan, and she liked wearing them; they added a bit more…of a certain _something_ to her hair.

Steph absently played with a lock that had been thrown over her shoulder to keep it out of the way for the moment, and she held the strands by the ends of the red sections, comparing the bright gold and vivid scarlet between her fingers.

"Why does your hair grow like that?" Kevin said suddenly, pointing at the lock in Steph's hands.

She shrugged. "I dunno,"

"Genetic quirk," Ian said, leaning down to grab a handful of beads and started threading them onto the braid he was working on.

Steph exchanged a grin with Kevin; she could remember clearly back when she'd first met Kevin, having said the same thing when he asked about the Avis Tribe.

"Yeah," he pressed, scuttling across the living room floor to get closer to the source of knowledge. "But why different colours?"

"Way, way back," Ian said dramatically, and by the shadow he cast Steph knew he had struck a heroic pose. "In the mists of time…!"

"On get on with it!" Steph said loudly, laughing at Kevin's expression.

"Basically," her dad said, working the feathers into her hair. "It was a prehistoric means of being territorial. Phoenix stayed together with each other because of the red, and it helped them camouflage with the cliffs they lived on." He tapped her shoulder. "Remember that small patch of lichen your Great-Grandma Ava went mental over?"

"Yeah?" Steph asked, puzzled. "That tiny little scrap of reddy-brown stuff?"

"It's a rare lichen, and it used to cover the entire mountain range where your grandparents live, centuries ago. That's why we have red in our hair, to camouflage us with the red on the cliffs. But its very rare now – which doesn't matter really because we don't have to hide as much,"

Steph and Kevin listened in rapt attention.

"So what about the other Clans?" Kevin asked.

Steph wondered why she hadn't asked, or even _thought_ about it before now.

"Well, the Polar Clan, that doesn't really need explaining. They live on the ice packs _waaaayy_ up north,"

"Kinda like cousin Margaret," Steph said, thinking of her mother's childhood bestest friend ever who lived on the northernmost island of Scotland.

Ian ignored her and continued with his lecture. "That was for two reasons – first off, so that other Avis could tell the difference, and secondly to help camouflage from the Lupus. There's a long and bloody history between the two, and they've only just really got a handle on the situation." He leant over her shoulder, and she cocked her head to one side to see his expression, and grinned back. "It's so nice to see you and Mikey get on. I wish more youngsters could follow your example."

"Mikey's awesome!" Steph gave her dad the thumbs up.

"So, what about the other Clans?" Kevin asked impatiently.

"Well, the Aero Clan are much more hawk like in appearance."

"I thought they were eagles?" Steph said, aghast that she should have been misinformed about her people for so long.

"Nope. Hawks," Ian started on a new braid. "They are much more nomadic than the other clans, and they are the best fliers. Most of the airborne military is comprised of Aero Clansmen; the air force HQ is even stationed in their permanent territory. Their hair is normally dark on top, like a brown, black or maybe even a dark red, and light closer to the ears and neck. Most of them keep their hair very short for military purposes. And then," he added with a dramatic sigh, making them laugh. "There is the younger generation who doesn't give a crap."

"What about Lapis and Lamina?" Kevin asked, shooting Steph a glower. "_She_ never told me much about them."

"Who's _she_, the cat's aunty?" Steph spat. "And how can I tell you something when I don't know it myself?"

"Calm down," Ian sighed, tugging her hair gently. "Lapis are actually the biggest of the Avis, but they are ground dwelling birds, like Emu or Ostriches. They built the first proper Avis Empire about…oh, I'd say a million Earth years ago?"

"Boy," Steph breathed, wondering again _why_ she hadn't bothered to find this all out the moment she went to Re'ath. "We really _are_ backward."

"You mean _you_ are," Kevin shot at her.

"I meant _Earth_! Avis are cool,"

"Earth is so far behind tech wise, I'm embarrassed to admit I live here," he sniffed.

"Earth's not so bad," Ian laughed over his newest braid. "I wouldn't have met Michelle…Steph and Mel wouldn't exist…and then what would you do?" he feigned horror at the thought.

Steph laughed as Kevin became thoughtful over this argument, and then even harder when he looked over at Ben and said, "Thank God you're here…"

The unspoken thought that was flitting through his head was; _my parents wouldn't have met_… But Steph kept her mouth shut. Talking about Devin led to Cari, who led to Cain. Who lead to the word _divorce_. And Crystal was not a happy bunny at the moment, which made Kevin insufferable at times…

"Anyway, so the Lapis Clan are the bigger of the birds. And in their humanoid form…kinda chubby, actually, now I stop to think about it…"

"And Lamina?" Kevin steered the conversation back on track. Steph sniggered and he shot her a glare.

"Yes, Lamina…" Ian said, working more feathers into her hair. "They're actually the smallest; when transformed they are about half the size of their human form, and they look a lot like pigeons."

"Dad?" Steph interrupted.

"Mmhmm?" he said through a mouthful of feathers.

"Can I meet some of these people?"

"Sure thing," he patted the crown of her head. "I'm wanted for a tour of the bases on Re'ath – something about being made an honorary Magister…"

"Woah,"

Steph looked up with a raised eyebrow at Kevin's response. "So?" she asked bluntly.

"You have to do, like, a _million_ things out in the field and stuff before they'll even _consider_ making you a Magister!" the awe in his words and face was plain and honest.

"I'll take you on tour!" Ian promised. Then he paused for a moment before adding, "If your mother lets me take you…"

"Okay!" Steph grinned at the thought. "So…why ostriches and pigeons?"

"Well, they live in the forests. Lapis are two big to be taken down by a predator, especially an adult. And Lamina are so small and scrawny in comparison, they're not worth chasing after. They don't really have that many distinguishing physical features as humanoids – it's all about the clothes they wear. _That's_ how you tell them apart."

"What about the…" Kevin frowned as he tried to remember the name.

"Aqueous?" Steph supplied.

"Yeah! That one,"

"_Tha'_ one," Steph mimicked a northern English accent and laughed. "Little Britain's amazing…"

"They tend to have blue in their hair, because they live on floating towns over rivers and the coast line. But the ends of their hair is actually transparent…I guess the best way to describe it is like a polar bear; it absorbs the light around it and takes on that colour. But if you put them in a forest setting it goes green and brown."

"Why doesn't it absorb the colour of their hair?" Kevin asked.

Steph scowled at him; this was _her_ father-daughter bonding time, why couldn't he just piss off and annoy someone else?

"Because, and this is the weird bit," Ian took two large sections from either side of her face and pulled them back. "The transparent pigment actually reflects the light colour of the rest of the hair, so it can't take on that colour. Yeah," he laughed at Kevin's expression. "Weird, I know. They look more like swans than anything else, but they have a crest a bit like the Phoenix."

"What do the Polar Clan look like in Avis form?" Steph asked suddenly. She stopped, not sure why she'd just said that – it hadn't been on her mind at all, but her father ploughed on without noticing she'd suddenly become very still.

"A lot like Phoenix, actually. Only they are a bit shorter, stockier…it helps keep them warm during the winter, see? They normally have very pale colours, like off whites – sometimes tinted a bit with a _very_ pale green or pink, something that mirrors the aurora,"

"Aurora? Isn't that a Disney princess?" Kevin said scathingly.

"It's the name of the princess from the old Fairy Tale _Sleeping Beauty_," Steph snapped. "And the _aurora borealis_ is the scientific name for the Northern Lights. Dip shit,"

"Steph," Ian tugged her hair a little harder this time, chastising her.

"But he is!" she complained loudly.

"Even if it is true," he said calmly, "it's not very nice to point it out."

"I hate you all…" she muttered darkly to herself.

"Well," Ian said dramatically with a sigh. "I guess I'd be careful if I take you with me to Re'ath. There's a long history of romance between the Polar and the Phoenix Clans. Fire and ice, coming together as one…the mingling of complete opposites – often you find one or more sparking relationships between the youth of both Clans. Oh!" he swooped down and scooped Steph up in his arms, depositing her onto his lap and hugging her tightly to his chest.

"Gah!" she spluttered, trying to fight her way out of his grasp. "Dad! Let – _go_!"

"What's a father to do?" he lamented, burying his face in her braided hair and sighing deeply. "I can't take you with me, I'm so sorry my little dove! I'm not ready to give you up to another family-"

Steph phased, unable to think of another way to make him let her go. He yelped in surprise and dumped her on the floor in a whirl of red and gold feathers.

Kevin pointed but couldn't laugh anymore – it had got to the point where he couldn't actually breath. Ben was…absent; me must have taken the hint and pissed off like she'd wanted him to. Which was great really, since there was only one other witness to her humiliation.

"No fighting in the house!" her mother called from the kitchen, apparently knowing exactly what was happening. "Take it outside Stephenie!"

"I didn't do it!" Kevin laughed, jumping to his feet and throwing his ID Mask on. "I'm going to go pick up Gwen from karate," he gave Steph his best grin and ran as she lunged for him awkwardly, unable to stand to her full height in the living room. "So long bird breath!" and with that, Kevin ran for the front door, snickering loudly.

"Your blood will be mine!" Steph shouted after him, snarling as best she could through her beak. The whole effect would have been more impressive if she had a pair of lips and teeth she could draw back.

Ian laughed, and nudged her leg with his foot. "You can kill him later. Let me finish your hair and then you can go back to your textbook."

"I hate _you_ too," she snapped her beak in his face menacingly, knowing it wouldn't intimidate him.

XOXOX

Kevin seemed to be consistently laughing today – first at Ben, then at Steph, and now Gwen was telling him about the newbie in her club who was a black belt in Goju Ryu, which if he remembered correctly was River's form of martial arts too.

This guy, named _Jeremiah_, had come all the way from Margate in England, and had swaggered up to Gwen, sized her up and proclaimed that he could take her down in one blow. She had him on the floor screaming for mercy before the instructor even called for the sparing match to begin.

Gwen had never been one to enjoy senseless violence, but she was incredibly pleased with herself for this heroic feat.

"It was nothing, really," she said, brushing her hair in the passenger seat. "What really got me though, was he was trying to hit on my friend Candace who's just joined. I told him to back off, and that's when he said he could take me on with his eyes and closed and one hand behind his back."

Kevin grinned at the thought. Poor guy wouldn't have known what hit him…

"Smoothie?" he offered as they approached their favourite haunt.

"I think I will," she sighed, searching her pockets for something. "Then I need to go home and have a shower," she paused for a moment to think. "And I have an English paper of _The Great Gatsby_ to hand in on Monday…"

"It's only Wednesday!" Kevin said, aghast at the thought.

"But if I do it now, I get the weekend off," she said calmly, finding what she was looking for in her bag.

"And why are you doing that?" he complained as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"Doing what?" she blinked, confused.

"That!" he leant over and tugged at the ends of her hair. "You _never_ wear it down anymore,"

"Because it gets in the way," she said, smoothing the ends out and shaking her head to get it back into position. "Plus, it's icky from playing soft ball and sparring all afternoon."

Kevin sulked all the way into the parking lot and into his preferred space. He perked up somewhat when he saw Gwen smiling, but it wasn't directed at him. On their usual bench was Mikey, seated on the table top with his skateboard leaning against the wooden leg – and beside him, wearing roller-skates and blowing big pink bubbles with her gum was Sally. Mikey grinned and waved them over, and Gwen made a beeline for the table, Kevin following close behind.

"Wassup?" Mikey drawled, taking a swig of his drink. "You tried the banana and raspberry with honey and kiwi? It's _divine_,"

"Eww," Kevin complained, flopping down onto the bench the other side of the table. "You're turning into Ben, slowly but surely…"

Sally laughed, probably remembering the one group date Mikey had persuaded her to come on where Ben had tried to initiate her into their social circle through the medium of smoothies. Needless to say, it had almost scared her off completely, even when she was being open minded about the whole alien thing.

"Drinks are on me," Gwen said firmly, placing her hands on his shoulders and giving them a playful squeeze before she went over to the counter.

"How's the new project going?" Sally asked, turning her body so that she could see Kevin clearly, sipping her own smoothie.

"Terrible," Kevin let his head fall and smack the tabletop hard, relishing in the satisfactory crunch it made. He felt like punching something…

"It's really hard," Sally said, probably nodding. A few seconds later he heard another bubble gum balloon pop loudly.

"Which on is this? The culture one, the colour one," Mikey rattled the list off his fingers as Kevin slowly looked up. "Or the clothing one?"

"Clothes," they both groaned, and Kevin let his head fall again. He just wanted the summer holidays to hurry the hell up! Was that too much to ask for?

"Sounds absolutely _riveting_." Mikey said solemnly.

"Rub in then," Sally teased, poking him in the ribs.

Mikey laughed. "I'm _so_ glad I decided to finish my A Levels early!"

Gwen came back and slid a cup into Kevin's hands and he downed half of it in one go.

"Pick me up?" Mikey said, swilling the contents at the bottom of his own cup.

"I hate Wednesdays…"

"No Art…" Sally sighed.

Kevin had to admit, she'd taken to the idea of aliens and stuff quite well – not as well as Julie had from the start, and she'd had to get over the shock first, but she and Mikey were actually getting on really well. After avoiding Kevin for a week or so at school, she eventually confronted him about the whole Dinosaur-Animo thing, and after an awkward five-minute conversation they both managed to laugh it off, and everything was not-so-weird anymore.

They didn't stay long, because Gwen wanted to get home and cleaned up, and Sally had to go scouting for materials for his project. She and Mikey waved goodbye and rolled along the sidewalk, side-by-side, and holding hands.

"Aww," Gwen cooed.

"Come on," Kevin rolled his eyes and bundled her into his car before she demanded something outrageous and cheesy of him.

Gwen stuck her tongue out at him and went to finish her smoothie. It was just too tempting, so Kevin leant down and pressed his lips against hers when she was least expecting it. He smiled into the kiss; she tasted the way she smelled.

After he dropped her home, Kevin went back to his house to grab a few things before going back. Gwen was going to help him with an English report and dig out an old photo album for him to use in his latest art project. He threw the front door open and walked into Cain on the threshold. Preparing to scowl, Kevin was stunned when he heard the one word that his stepfather had _never_ said directly to his face.

"Sorry,"

More unnerved than anything else, he dived for the stairs, saying nothing. Down in his room, he grabbed his English books, a thick untouched refill pad of lined paper, and his art stuff. He was just tipping his pencil case over his bed so he could sort through what he needed to take and what he could leave behind, to save his poor bag from being ripped open again, when someone knocked softly on the door.

"Mom, I'm going to Gwen's house for a study evening. I swear!" he called through the wood. When the door opened, he sighed and turned to face the inquisition.

Crystal was standing on the other side, wearing her school hockey colours; she still had her shin pads on under her knee high socks, but she'd taken her shoes off. Everything was covered in a thin layer of mud and dust.

"What is it?" he as expecting his mom to send her as a messenger so he couldn't moan about whatever it was she wanted him to do.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked in a small voice.

"Err…sure," she didn't normally come into his room. This was _Kevin's_ space, _no_ one came here unless they had good reason or he gave them express permission. Not that it had _ever_ stopped Steph in the past…

Crystal scuttled across the floor and leapt onto the bed before looking down at her socks and biting her lip.

"Wassup?"

"Daddy's leaving soon," she said after a moment of silence. She looked up, eyes bright with unshed tears. "Is it my fault?"

Kevin was shocked she'd even think that. "No! No," hell, how do you explain this to a little kid? Where the hell was River when you _actually needed_ her! "It's not you, trust me."

"Then what is it? Mommy won't say a thing, and daddy just says that I'll understand when I'm older…"

Stupid Cain… "He thinks it's for the best,"

"But _why_? Because at first I thought it was you," she tugged at the fake sleeve of his shirt, looking down at his elbow rather than up at his face. "But mom didn't mind. I don't either, and dad never said anything about it, so I thought that…" she bit her lip before reaching up and grabbing clumsily at the edge of his mask.

Kevin closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see her expression, but he opened them again when he felt her throw her arms around his waist. Startled, he looked down, and found her looking up at him, without a trace of the fear or disgust he would have expected right at the beginning.

"Why are you like this?" she asked very matter-of-factly.

"Err…" help me! "There was an accident. You know my friend Ben has that special watch and everything?"

Crystal nodded.

"Well, we tried to do something to it, and it kinda backfired… And you know I'm not all human."

"Yeah," she nodded again, eager to share her knowledge. "Mommy has a picture in the drawer where she keeps her hairbrush and stuff. It's got her and this man in it that looks like you, and when I asked her she said it was _your_ dad."

That surprised Kevin no end. She'd actually kept a photo of his father that close to Cain? What River had said before about Kevin being a constant reminder of that past relationship came back to him. Maybe Cain had found it or something… This was all so confusing!

"Yeah. That's why I'm like this," he gestured at himself, wishing it were not the case.

"That's not right," Crystal blurted out suddenly.

"Huh?"

"_I_ don't see a problem. And mom doesn't either. Why is there supposed to be a problem?"

"I dunno," where was she going with this conversation?

"Kevin?" she looked up at him with wide eyes, tucking her legs up onto the bed beside her.

"What?" was it just the fact that Gwen had made him all soft and gooey on the inside, or as he really a good brother? He couldn't deny Crystal anything at that moment.

"You won't leave me, will you?" she asked timidly.

"Why would I?" he asked, completely nonplussed.

"Because," she bit her lip. "I remember once dad was saying about how you…turned your back on us or something. I remember mom saying one day that you were coming back to live with us, and that I couldn't remember you before. And the other day dad said that he hoped you won't do a…a repeat?" she frowned as she tried to get the phrasing right. "He said it like you were going somewhere."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Kevin tried to reassure her. "I'm going to Gwen's," he added when she eyed his possessions dubiously. "And then I'm coming home for dinner. Unless anything comes up." He added, knowing his schedule was far from predictable.

"So…you won't leave us?" she hedged, peering up at him shrewdly like their mother sometimes did when she was trying to figure him out.

"Promise," he said, grinning as he offered her his pinkie.

Crystal grinned back – something she'd learnt from him – and wrapped her finger around his. Then she flung her arms around his neck. "Thanks, Kevin."

He hugged her back, and said, "I know I'm terrible and everything, but I'll always be here."

"Can I have chocolate?" she asked, leaning back so she could give him the full effect of her blinding smile.

"No," he waggled his finger in her face. "You're diabetic. I'm not gonna be the one to tell mom why you ended up in hospital, if-"

"Aww!" she draped herself over his shoulder. "Please?"

"Go ask mom,"

"But-!"

Kevin scooped her up and threw her bodily over his shoulder and stood up. He then flipped her so she was hanging upside-down and carried her upstairs to the kitchen where his mom was busy washing dishes.

"Hey, mom!"

She gave him a withering look when she saw the screaming, wriggling state her youngest child was in.

"This thing came into my room, I think it's yours."

"Go put her down, Kevin." Their mother said calmly, turning back to the sink. "If she's sick, you can clean it up."

"Eww," he hadn't thought of that. "Good point."

"KEVIN!" she shrieked.

He dumped her on he sofa and she pounced on him the moment he turned his back. "Hey! Quit it," he said, trying to get her off him without hurting her. "Crystal!" when she wouldn't let him go, he did the one thing he dreaded – but knew there was no other option if he wanted this resolved peacefully, painlessly and injury free.

"_Mom!_"

"What now?" she sighed, walking into the living room with a dishcloth in her hand.

"Get it off me!" he pleaded.

"Not so mighty now!" Crystal crowed, clinging to his back and giggling. "You fight like a girl,"

He grinned and bore it – mostly for her sake, but it hurt his pride considerably when his mother pointed and laughed.

Snarling, he said, "You're as bad as Steph!" when Crystal was finally back on the ground, and stormed out of the room.

XOXOX

"Aw, crap!" Mikey beat his fist against the ground, teeth bard in a grimace.

"There isn't enough room for me to fish it out," Gwen said, beginning to worry.

Although it would be nothing like the last storm that hit the area, there was a lot of rain brewing over the sea, and it was headed inland. The storm drain on her street was infamous for being blocked most of the time, and she and Mikey had discovered a little cat stuck down there when him came by on his paper round. They had so far failed to retrieve it, and with the rain getting closer, Gwen was worried that it would drown down there.

"What about a translocation spell?" Mikey suggested.

"I need to see the boundaries around the cat," Gwen bit her lip. "I could make the whole thing collapse on top of it! It's too dangerous,"

"Well," Mikey stuck his face close to the opening again and peered inside. "I can't think of anything else. Could we get Ben or-?"

Gwen heard a familiar noise, and looked up in time to see Kevin's car pull up alongside her house. She waved him over as he got out and turned back to the storm drain.

"_Now_ what?" Kevin asked, crouching down beside her.

"There's a cat stuck in the drain." She told him. "I can't get it out without making the tunnel collapse or explode. And Mikey can't get it out wither,"

"Poor thing," Mikey said, frowning. "And that rain cloud looks nasty, too." He nodded up at the slowly darkening sky.

Just then, Kevin's phone went off, and he walked a few paces away to answer it. Mikey and Gwen put their heads together again to figure something out, but it all came to nothing as the cat's cries became more high pitched with each passing minute.

"Who was it?" Mikey asked when Kevin came back.

"River." He said simply. "She's coming back down tomorrow. And she gave me an idea," he laid down on the stretch of grass that Mikey had vacated, flat on his stomach and examined the mouth of the tunnel before taking his mask off and placing his hand against the ground at the tunnel mouth.

Gwen watched in fascination as he flattened his hand against the bottom of the tunnel and slowly inched his arm inside, frowning in concentration as he went.

"A_ha_!" he said, then withdrew his arm again, and out came the cat with a squelch as he scooped it out of the dark, dank tunnel.

"Wow!" Mikey clapped him on the back as he sat back on his knees and lifted the cat up to examine it more closely. "That's a great idea!" he turned to Gwen with a grin. "We would _never_ have thought of that in a million years!"

"Is it okay?" Gwen asked, crouching next to Kevin.

"I think it hurt its leg," he said, gently poking said limb. The cat meowed pitifully and struggled against his hold.

Gwen gingerly took it from him and held it close to her chest. It was so tiny! It was most likely a kitten, but a very emaciated kitten, and it was impossible to tell what colour its fur should be under all the mud and grime.

"We'd better take it inside, before _that_ breaks," Kevin nodded up at the rain clouds that were suddenly almost overhead.

They made a break for it indoors, and Gwen went straight to the bathroom to clean the cat up. Mikey helped her by holding it still so she could clean the gunk out of its fur, and Kevin raided the kitchen for a large bowl and some salt. Once they'd completed their tasks, Gwen made a warm salt bath for the cat and soaked its injured leg before murmuring a healing spell over it.

Eventually, they were all sat at the table, with books and papers spread out in a wide circle around them, with the shoes box at the end padded out with some of Gwen's old clothes and the little tortoiseshell kitten curled up in the middle

"What's with the cat?" Ben asked when he and Steph arrived with their junk in tow.

"Storm drain." Mikey said as he beat the laptop before him. "We rescued it from drowning and now we have _no_ idea what to do with it."

No sooner had Steph closed the door, the heavens opened, and she whistled at the window. "Bloody hell! I'd say you got it out of there in the nick of time,"

"I was thinking," Gwen said from over Kevin's essay, "if I asked my parents about keeping her?"

"Are you sure?" Ben asked as Steph walked over and leant down to take a closer look. "I am, it might have rabies!"

"You'd know by now if it did," Steph said, poking it behind the ear. The kitten meowed pitifully and stretched to get closer to Steph's finger. "I guess, as long as you promised to take responsibility and everything…"

They had a good solid half hour of work done before conversation broke out. Ben wanted to know about electron sub shells, Mikey couldn't access what he needed on the extranet so Kevin had to hack the system for him, and Gwen got bored of her trig homework. So the banter flowed thick and fast after they all gave up, and Gwen laughed at Mikey's rendition of _Tangled_; Steph and Ben bitched and moaned about the universal laws of things in general, and Kevin doodled over the margins of his essay.

"How can an electron be in _this_ shell, when in actual fact it could be anywhere on and _not_ on the diagram? What's the point?" Ben wailed, tearing at his hair.

"Don't ask _me_. I'm not the bee all and end all of the universe," Steph muttered, glowering at the chemistry book as though she were considering throwing it at the wall.

"But you know," Mikey said, lifting the laptop so he could look underneath it. "Eww! That needs dealing with…" he said, switching it off so he could dismantle the fan. "Anyway, I love the spin they did on the fairy tale,"

"I always thought that Rapunzel was supposed to be a bargaining chit because her father stole food from the old woman or something," Gwen frowned. She remembered that vaguely from when she was much younger, but she hadn't read those stories in years; they were all still up there on her shelf under an inch of dust.

"Yeah, that's the original." Mikey said, carefully pulling the computer apart. "But the way Disney twisted it around to their own ends – it's brilliant! Plus, I _really_ like the music,"

"I think _I See The Light_ is a very nice song," Gwen hinted heavily in Kevin's direction.

He sat there, tapping his pencil against the table before huffing and picking up the eraser. "Stupid…" he muttered darkly as he rubbed out his previous scribble.

"Have you seen the film?" Mikey asked.

"No, but my friend at school showed me some stuff on youtube. It's really nice to listen to,"

"What's your favourite song?"

"Hmm…I'd say either _When Will My Life Begin_ or _I See The Light_."

"I love _I've Got A Dream_! My favourite bit's when Flynn gets up and does his bit,"

"I'll have to watch it all the way through sometime," Gwen said, looking at the kitten in its box.

"Miley's getting it on DVD. I'll let you know when we've got it and I'll lend it to you. It's brilliant! It's one of the best films Disney's done since they started doing computer animated movies instead of drawn cartoons,"

They chatted on for a few minutes until Gwen had had enough of Kevin's silence, and gave him a dig in the ribs. Far from complaining about the 'pain' she'd inflicted, he just looked up and blinked until his settled on her and said, "Huh?"

"Why are you ignoring me?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"I'm not," he said, startled. "I'm drawing. You were talking to Mikey and I felt it was rude to interrupt…"

Gwen gave him a scathing look.

Kevin sighed, set his pencil and paper to one side, and said, "You said you haven't seen _Tangled_, and Mikey was going on about how his favourite character's the frog Pascal, and that Miley wants a man like Eugene Fitz…thing. And then you started badgering me because apparently I have to give you my attention _all_ the time," Gwen glared at him, but he grinned and tapped her on the nose. "See? I _do_ listen!"

"Yey!" Mikey crowed, and they both turned to look at him. "Eh…Heheh," he laughed self consciously before clearing his throat. "I just managed to clean the fan without making anything explode. Just ignore the sugar I had for breakfast,"

Then Steph started hurling abuse at him, and Kevin joined in. And then Ben tried to join in, so the other two ganged up on him, and they started a verbal fight to the death with 'who can throw the best insult' being the prime objective.

Rolling her eyes, Gwen went to help Mikey search for information on the extranet. They weren't making much headway until Gwen spotted something at the end of a report on the sale of magical items, which made her say, "Stop!" Mikey had been about to click away from the page, but instead turned to study the paragraph she was pointing to.

"Hmm…" he frowned. "Hey, Kevin!"

"What?"

Gwen looked up and smacked her forehead. He and Steph had Ben in a headlock.

"You know that douche bag teacher of yours who molested Sally?"

"Yeah?"

"Was it spelt B-A-R-N-S or B-A-R-N-_E_-S?"

"With an 'E'."

"Ah," Mikey looked down at Gwen, biting his lip. "Oh, this could be a problem," he delved deeper into the reports, taking bits and pieces here and there that Gwen tried to patch together.

"What is it?" Kevin let go of Ben's head, and he and Steph both toppled onto the floor over the chair with a loud thud. Kevin joined them at the computer, and Gwen showed him what they were piecing together.

"Look," she pointed at a report on illegal charms. "To a Mr Barnes in…Florida?"

"Where's this guy from again?" Mikey asked, tapping the face of his badge.

"Dunno. But apparently he had access to level five tech," he pointed at the screen.

"Yikes!" Steph draped herself across the boys' shoulders. "That ain't good news! Remember when River went _ballistic_ after he just walked past her in the shop?"

And then the ball dropped.

"Mikey! Take a look at the other records, I need to check something," Gwen said.

Mikey obeyed, and left the page open for her to peruse. "Found anything?" he asked eventually.

It had all clicked into place. "Of course!" she could have kicked herself. "He used an energy feedback amulet!"

"A…wha?" Ben asked, left on the outside of this little group huddle, looking very hacked off.

"Energy feedback amulet," Gwen repeated. "It takes energy around it and uses it like a shield, so you won't be noticed. I _knew_ it wasn't right in the shop! It was like there was a void in the shop that kept moving, and I couldn't feel anything coming from it. That's how he cloaked himself!"

"Take a look at this," Kevin was reading another article. "What's a…Veer'natda?"

"WHAT?" Mikey exploded, making them all jump. He swore and jumped to his feet, fumbling for his cell. "This is bad," he chanted under his breath. "This is bad, very bad. Oh so very very _very_ bad! LEA!" he practically shouted down the line.

Gwen grabbed the shoe box and pulled the kitten closer to her, trying to soothe it as Mikey ran round the table in circles, pacing madly.

Steph took a closer look and swore as well. "Shit! I need to talk to my dad,"

"What's the problem?" Kevin asked, grabbing her by the elbow so she couldn't run away before giving him an answer.

"You know vampires?" she said.

Kevin, Ben and Gwen all frowned, exchanging looks. "Yeah?" Kevin said slowly.

"And you know Mutant Space Jaghd's from the Null Void?"

He shivered involuntarily against Gwen's arm. "Yeah?"

"Think those two crossed with a Inyana Werewolf. _On steroids_!" she added the last bit, waving her arms above her head.

Kevin, following the trend set out before him, swore. Quite violently.

"Ben!" he said, diving for his badge. "Call your Grandpa and tell him its an emergency!"

"This sounds bad," Ben gulped, patting himself down for his badge. "Damnit!" he smacked the watch, suddenly remembering.

"Is it really that bad?" Gwen asked, biting her lip.

From the serious look in his eyes, she knew Kevin wasn't lying. "If that scum bag's got contacts like that, and access to that sort of tech, we're _all_ in deep shit,"

"What can I do to help?"

Kevin handed her his cell phone. "Call River and tell her not to come down here until we say so. Then call Miley and tell her what's happening. If this goes badly we'll need medics…"

Gwen ran through the contacts list; most were names she didn't recognise, but were probably these infamous friends of his from the auto shop. She found River's number and pressed call, looking up at Kevin who was already in deep discussion with Steph, not a trace of humour in anyone's face.

"_This is Dr Collins voice mail_," River's cool and efficient work voice sounded in Gwen's ear, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes imagining the face she must have been pulling to sound that sincere about her 'work voice'. "_Please leave a message after the tone and I will get back to you as soon as I can_."

_Beep_.

"Hey, it's Gwen on Kevin's cell…I don't understand most of this, but _don't come back to Bellwood_. We've just uncovered this big plot involving that music teacher at Kevin's school. Something about a…Veer'natda? Anyway, we don't think its safe right now, so just stay put and we'll let you know when…I dunno, when everything's back to normal!" She smacked the palm of her hand into her forehead before dialling Miley's number.

"_I've been trying to get hold of one of you guys!_" Miley chastised her when she finally got through. "_What's up with everyone today?_"

"We…" Gwen looked up to watch Kevin scribbling something on the back of the essay he'd worked so hard on, and showed Ben before conferring notes with Steph. "Kind of have a situation on our hands…"

XOXOX

**The next chapter's already in the works, but its turning out a bit longer than I originally thought it would so it's gona take a while to proof read.**

**As ever, reviews/comments/suggestions/so on and so forth welcome and appreciated! :D and if I don't update before the weekend have a GREAT Easter everyone! May the Eater Bunny bring you many eggs! ;) I know I've got my sights on a nice big mountain of chocolate sitting there in the kitchen, taunting me so! xD although after running around climbing trees and jumping off cliffs (on a zip wire, obviously, I'm not that crazy! xD) and rafting and stuff, coming back home and doing nothing but sit and work is making me put on weight :/ I'm not a happy bunny, especially when I know I need to watch what I'm eating…curbing my chocolate habits has never been a great skill of mine xD**

**I will shut up now and go get some work done ;) till next time!**

**xxx**


	40. Toxic

**AN: yey I got this written before Easter! xD I'm actually on schedule for once! :D**

**I may have gotten a LITTLE carried away with this but yeah…that's sort of what I do :)**

**And again…title is terrible, but I couldn't think of anything else**

**Anyways, do enjoy!**

_**Toxic**_

Kevin was pissed off, _extremely _pissed off – no one _ever_ listened to him!

Despite threats, River had still come back to Bellwood, and to their disbelief, Miley had allowed her to part take in the mission! As she had so often pointed out before, she was A, a cripple; B, _pregnant_; and C, prone to blacking out.

And they just let her waltz around helping out…_why_?

This wasn't something small like the Forever Knights, or mildly irritating like Vulkanus; this was a Veer'natda, one of the nastiest beings in the known universe.

It feed on blood, like Earth vampires in legends and folklore, but it was of the same order as the Space Jaghd – a being that needed only a bare minimum of gases to respire, and could inhabit all but the harshest of environments (meaning the likes of the interior of stars and black holes).

That, crossed with a similar temperament of the Inyana Werewolf, another altogether horrible creature that went into fits of rage and would tear anything apart in their path, made them shit scary and highly dangerous. Also, the highly evolved brain and unimaginable higher cognitive abilities made them all the more deadly, as they weren't so ruled by emotions as the Inyana.

And River floated around like it was nothing…

Max Tennyson gave her a very disapproving look, until Miley said River made an excellent look out, and that she needed help with the inevitable casualties. He had nodded, handed her a small laser pistol, and left it at that.

When it came to the final plans being laid down, after Max had gone through Barnes to give his contacts a false lead and sent the man to a Plumber run prison, Kevin started to get very edgy.

Ben in the lead, followed by Mikey for cover and back up should he need it; Gwen was going to hang behind to provide cover in general, and Steph was to follow Ben one his signal. Miley and Lea would bring up the rear if need be, while River – and Mel, who got dragged into it too – were standing by to handle injuries.

Ian would be stationed as a look out, perched high on a roof and passing himself off as some eccentric gargoyle decoration. He'd be in there if things really got out of hand – hopefully they would catch the Veer'natda before it came to that, but it was nice to know an experienced aerobatic flyer had their backs.

And Kevin got to be sneaky and slip round the back to attack them from behind. He quite liked that idea, only he'd have no initial back up himself, and he was worried about leaving Gwen and River behind.

Okay! So Gwen had someone at her back and could take care of herself. The limited magic River had wasn't going to protect her, and Taylor was still up in Canada, and she most probably hadn't told him about this so he couldn't march right back down here and drag her home again.

Stupid, stupid, _stupid_…

If she got killed…Kevin would have to think of some way to annoy the hell out of her in her next life.

"Everyone good?" Max asked, looking up from the rough plans they'd drawn out on paper.

They all nodded, and Ben raised his hand.

"Yes, Ben?"

"Why do I have a laser lance?" he asked, hefting the huge gun awkwardly in his arms. "Can't I just go Rath on their butts?"

"Because Veer'natda eat cats for a light snack." Mikey said, tucking his own weapon into the holster he'd nicked off Lea, slung round his waist. "Hey," he tapped Gwen on the shoulder and twisted around, trying to get the full effect of the holster hung against his thigh. "Does this make my bum look big?"

Gwen had held a mostly grim expression since they'd congregated around sundown, and with his ridiculous remark she started laughing uncontrollably. Kevin grinned as well, caught up in her moment of elation, but it didn't last long as they were ordered into position. Though she was still smiling as she headed off to her post.

"Please!" River said sarcastically, picking imaginary dust from her gun. "A little decorum. Mikey, I'm looking at _you_,"

Kevin glowered at her.

"Save it for the Vampire," she said, not looking at him. "You'll need it."

Rounding on her, he spat, "I said _stay_ in Canada! What part of _stay put_ do you not understand!" he exploded at her.

River very calmly put a hand on his shoulder, and raised the other with her small gun held on the safety catch.

"My grandfather fought in two world wars," she said softly, very matter-of-factly. "My dad was a Marine before he joined the Royal Navy. I have two uncles in the SAS, _and_ my brothers have been dragging me down to Dorset every summer since I turned eleven to go paint balling with them. I know what I'm doing," she stowed the gun and patted him condescendingly on the head.

"There's a huge difference between a paint ball and a laser beam," he snarled.

"Which is why I'm about fifty feet behind you, with several tall industrial buildings in the way," she said over her shoulder, slinking through the shadows with Miley.

Lea gave Kevin an amused look before phasing and jogging after them both.

"Ready?" Mikey said to Ben, who fumbled with his weapon.

"This is stupid…" he muttered. "I don't _need_ a gun!"

"What if the watch blinks out on you?" Ian said, adjusting his holster. "Damn! I had forgotten just how much I hate these things…"

"I've got Mikey!" Ben laughed it off, waving a hand at him. "I don't need a weapon!"

"Um, hello?" Mikey waved his own hands in Ben's face. "Big bad wolf have no opposable thumbs! Stealth requires four legs,"

"Just hang on to it," Ian clapped them both on the back. "Oh! Before I forget," he took a pouch from the pack by his feet and took out a handful of small spheres. "Take a few each. Stun Spheres," he said in answer to Kevin's questioning look.

"Ouch," Kevin winced, thinking of the one time he'd been caught out by these things. Less said the better about that experience…

"Yes," Ian said grimly, handing him about five. "Ouch, indeed."

"Ready?" Max called.

"Let's roll out!" Mikey clapped his hands together loudly.

"Ssshhh!" everyone hissed.

"…Sorry…" he murmured into the sudden silence.

"Steph, you're with me," Ian said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Remember the call you need to make if you need me?"

"The warbling one where it sounds like I'm trying to speak Avis in a Welsh accent with half a pint of phlegm in my throat?" she said sarcastically.

Ian paused, struggling for a few moments before saying, "Yeah, that one." He patted her shoulder before walking over to the wall of the closest building and climbing onto the roof. "You coming?"

Steph pretended to spit on her hands and rub them together. She gave Kevin a mock salute, and raced after her father. Ben started his crawl forward, sticking to the shadows and making a show of his sneaky moves.

"You'd make a crap ninja, you know?" Mikey huffed, dropping to one side and rolling onto all fours, sporting his furry tail.

Before Kevin sauntered off to sneak up from behind, he tapped Mikey on the shoulder. Two mismatched eyes trained themselves on him and there was an answering rumble from deep within Mikey's chest.

"Do me a favour?" Kevin asked, knowing Mikey would agree to it.

Sitting back on his haunches, towering above him, Mikey said, "Sure,"

"Watch out for Gwen,"

"Will do," he slid his front paws down so that they were spread out before him, still tucked up against the side of the building and out of sight completely. "You know," his flicked his tail back and forth – alert for anything. "I would have done that anyway. And you know she'd be pissed off if she found out you'd sent me to baby-sit her,"

"I know," Kevin could stop himself from smiling. "But I just want to make sure," he paused, not sure what to say. "I mean…you know…"

"If anything _does_ happen," Mikey said, eyes fixed on the point where Ben had last been. "Like when that prick tried to maul her," his lips drew back in a snarl to match Kevin's own. "Then I will personally impale myself on my father's sword. _After_ I've tracked the bastard down and torn his or her throat out."

Kevin placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze. "I know I can count on you,"

"Yeah," Mikey rolled his head back for a moment before snapping it forward again, shaking it so hard his ears flopped all over the place. "Just don't make a habit of it. I don't like pressure…"

"Kevin!" someone hissed, and they both looked up.

A pair of bright blue eyes glared down at them from above a long, curved beak surrounded by red feathers.

"Get going!" Steph snapped before she turned her back on them and hopped over to the next building, following the other hulking silhouette in Ben's direction.

"You heard the vulture," Mikey muttered sarcastically under his breath.

Kevin punched his arm and stood up, checking the coast was clear before darting into another alleyway. This was what he did best, apart from pissing off prison guards, and with so many allies backing him up; there was a strong chance of getting through this with minimal damage. That didn't stop him worrying, by any means, but it helped keep the worst at bay.

For now, at least.

It gave Kevin a fright when he saw the first Veer'natda, flitting through the alleyways near where Ben was skulking. He must have seen, however, because when it dived into his hiding place, there was a low hiss of anger and it stalked away, glowering.

Now was not the time for checking out hot alien chicks, but…_bloody hell_! It was humanoid in appearance, naturally – and looked like one of the vampires out of Miley's copy of _Dracula_, but with dreary red hair and, from the moonlight as it turned its pointed head, eyes the colour of quicksilver. It gave Kevin the creeps, but there was something almost alluring about it – the way it moved, so sinuous…so fey…

Although it was enthralling to watch, Kevin was proud to admit that he found it at the same time ghastly, and that despite its apparent beauty, the Veer'natda had _nothing_ on Gwen. The red was somewhat dull and flat, and the shining eyes was just creepy – even from this distance there was no depth to them, and even if there was, Kevin was freaked out by what he'd find there if he got too close to look.

Just before he could creep out of his hiding place, Ben slid into the alley as Goop; apparently this was how he'd escaped capture so quickly.

"_Get round the back._" he barely breathed. "_Draw it this way and we'll finish it off_."

Kevin just nodded, and checked his gun before crawling out of the alleyway and running to the next. He zigzagged his way around the area where he knew the Veer'natda was lurking, often looking up to see Steph or Ian crouched above him on the roofs. A couple of times Ian shook his head infinitesimally, or looked very pointedly in one direction, and at first he'd hesitated, but after nearly walking into the Veer'natda's face, he followed the older Plumber's silent advice religiously.

When he was at last in position, Kevin crouched with his back against the wall, before slowly standing up and raising his gun, inwardly debating what would be best to beat a Veer'natda with. A club? A mace? His hands were so versatile now that he was spoiled for choice. Ben flitted through the shadows back the other way, only just visible, and Kevin prepared to flush them out, reaching for the Stun Spheres at his belt.

Something moved from the very edge of his peripheral vision, but before he could react the something had slammed into his chest, knocking the breath from his lung and pinning his arms against the wall behind him. He tried to yell in defiance and attract attention, but a hand with seven fingers and two thumbs was clamped over his mouth.

Vivid silver eyes hovered before him, and for a moment they seemed to become even brighter before everywhere that it touched him seared painfully. It was like his mouth had been welded shut, and his voice box had been compressed to the point where he could make no noise – it was excruciating.

"Ahhh," the Veer'natda breathed in his ear, and he tried to recoil. "You're an Osmosian, aren't you?"

Shit! This wasn't the redheaded Veer'natda he'd seen earlier – this one had blonde hair, and horribly pale skin. How many were there round here, anyway? How would they be able to bring them down without more help if there were more?

The Veer'natda suddenly leant forward and pressed its nose against his throat and inhaled deeply. Something in his gut rebelled and Kevin could taste bile on the very back of his tongue, but his body was forced to suppress the natural urge to gag. He was completely at its mercy.

"Ooooh!" it would have clapped its hands for joy if had it not been holding him against the wall. "Human! Well, partly, at any rate. Well, well, well! This is interesting. What ever happened to you then?" a finger traced down the side of his face, and it burned for a long while afterwards.

A memory rose to the forefront of his mind; the first time Gwen had touched his face like that. It had burned then, too, but it had been a warm and pleasant feeling – tingling and stinging long after she had left his presence.

This was completely different – it stung, it _hurt_ badly. And when the Veer'natda leant closer and started rubbing its nose gently against his face, Kevin tried to muster every ounce of strength to push it off him. All to no avail, of course; he could only hope Ben or Steph would notice and come and help him.

"You seem very eager to be on your way," it laughed breathily against his neck.

Kevin cringed as best he could against his bonds.

"You reek of that girl I saw a while back."

That caught his attention like nothing else – every curse Kevin could think of was hurled at it mentally. If it so much as _touched_ Gwen he'd-!

"She your mate then? Deary me!" it laughed again, a soft, crooning laugh that had his teeth on edge. "Someone as interesting as you wouldn't _possibly_ have a chance with an Anodyte, yes? All air, those entities. You're very planet bound…"

If Kevin hadn't been panicking before, he certainly was now.

"Very pretty disguise she's wearing," the Veer'natda simpered in his ear. It suddenly leant over and bit his earlobe – hard. It was like napalm exploding; only all that force was concentrated to that tiny area where its teeth bit into his skin. Wait a moment…

…_Skin_?

"Such a good thing I can repair damage," it smiled; a horrible, perverse sort of joyful smile, but that was the only word he could think of to describe it. "You busted up your DNA something terrible. Youngsters!" It tutted loudly. "I suppose I can do something about that,"

Had he the voice, Kevin would have demanded to know what it was blabbing on about, but a split second later it dived down and sunk its teeth into his throat, letting go of its grip on his chest.

Oh, had he been in pain before? That had been _nothing_ to what he now felt.

It was like several small, sharp, red-hot pokers piercing through his skin. And the pressure over his mouth and voice box had suddenly been lifted as all energy was expended on inflicting pain over his throat. Kevin did the one thing he knew would get attention; he screamed. He didn't care if it was weak, or made him seem pathetic; if it got someone to come and take the pain away, it would be worth the humiliation that would ensue after the mission was over.

In response to his verbal refusal, the Veer'natda snarled and wrenched its teeth off to one side, wrenching muscle and sinew in the process. Pain exploded again, but this time reaching further across his body. It was unimaginable! He couldn't remember this much physical pain in his life, except-

Kevin banished that thought before it could fully form. Kevin Eleven was a distant component of his past, one that he wasn't prepared to pluck from the shelf and examine anytime soon.

He was only vaguely aware when the Veer'natda let him go, but the pain was still spreading until it had encompassed his head and reached to his feet. He couldn't move of his own freewill; instead his body was convulsing uncontrollably and his lungs started working on separate cycles, and his heart suddenly felt like it was beating in reverse – nothing was working right, and his vision was filled with white light and huge black spiders with about a dozen pairs of legs each. There was a roaring sound in his ears, like a tsunami, which he saw crash over him in a wave of blood red mist.

This all happened before the dizziness that started in his gut made its way up to his skull and bloomed into his vision with a bouquet of yellow rose-shaped blobs.

And then there was nothing.

XOXOX

Gwen had been no more on edge than she had since that afternoon. She kept in radio contact with River and Mel, and waited for Ben's signal. Steph and Ian were long gone, and skulking through the shadows.

It was all very dull for quite a while; she had been about to radio in to River and ask something when she heard a sound that made her blood instantly run cold. It was something he had heard a couple of times before, but never this loudly or violently, and it felt like someone was skewering her heart over an open fire.

Kevin was screaming – _loudly_ – as though he were in the greatest pain.

"_Gwen-!_" someone said down the com-link, but she paid them no attention, because she was already running.

Someone shouted after her as she dived into the pathway, and some_thing_ jumped into her way, blocking her path to Kevin. It was a Veer'natda, it had to be – humanoid in appearance with flat, dull red hair and silver eyes. Three sets of canine fangs hung over the plump bottom lip, and the hands with far too many digits were curled into fists.

"Oooh," it crooned. "This is interesting!"

Gwen snarled and summoned as much manna as she could. "Get out of my way!" she hurled it at the being, who brushed it aside almost as easily as Verdona had. _Oh crap…_she was left rather weakened after that. Stupid!

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" it trod carefully over to her, and Gwen backed up, panting and wincing as Kevin screamed again. It pricked her eyes with tears to hear him in such pain. "The little energy being – in love with the energy _fiend_? Little girl," it laughed, making Gwen's skin crawl. "He'll only drain you dry the same way my sister is draining him,"

"No!" she screamed desperately, turning wildly to find a way past.

There was a pounding noise followed by a roar as three wolves suddenly shot past, snarling loudly and taking the Veer'natda completely by surprise. Shots were fired from somewhere nearby, and it looked as though it would take flight for a moment, but the biggest wolf pounced and locked its jaws around the Veer'natda's throat and swung it wildly to one side.

And then there was a large, furry black face with blue and brown eyes in Gwen's way. "I'll cover you!" Mikey shouted over the noise. "Go!"

Gwen didn't need telling twice; she shot out of the alley like a bat out of hell and raced towards Kevin. She could feel his manna – it pulsed with distress and agony. Heavy footfalls followed her, but she paid them no mind.

Bursting onto the scene, she saw Chromastone throwing another Veer'natda into a building, yelling something incomprehensible, but she didn't listen; Gwen had eyes for Kevin alone, and she felt herself screaming his name when she saw him.

Always so cocksure, holding his head high and regarding the world with a superior smirk; that was far from what she could see now. Gwen threw herself down by his side and grabbed his hand, but couldn't keep hold of it; his entire body was spasming in uncontrollably paroxysms, and his limbs kept twitching in a horrible fashion that prevented her from holding him.

"Kevin!" Gwen tried to shake him, but he whimpered in pain before crying out even louder, clawing at his throat. "Kevin, can you hear me? Say something!"

The only response was a strangled cry, and Gwen had to restrain him before he ended up hurting either her or himself. Looking him over for injuries, her heart stopped when she saw what he'd been trying to reach at his throat.

There was _skin_. Pale, _real_, skin, marred by a series of cuts that looked distinctly fang shaped in a fanlike arrangement.

Gwen reached out tentatively and traced the puncture marks with her hand, and felt his flesh for the first time in so long beneath her fingertips in that one patch around his throat. No sooner had she done this, then the rock around this small patch began to spread back over the skin.

"No!" she cried, trying to freeze its progress, hang onto that scrap of skin. Maybe if she could isolate it…she might be able to finally find a cure! "_No!_" She couldn't prevented it; the fibres of his body knitted themselves up and over the visible flesh and when she ran her fingers over it again, she found it was solid rock. "No…" she couldn't believe it; the _one_ chance she may have had to help him, and it had just slipped through her fingers.

Kevin whimpered, his body still fighting against her restraints; his breath was ragged and his lungs seemed to have forgotten how to work. He sometimes became breathless around her, especially when one cornered the other and they ended up making out – his breath often became shallow and irregular, but this was completely different. It was harsh, serrated; it was almost as if his body had forgotten how to draw breath. There was no regularity to the rhythm – sometimes he tried to take in too much air and started coughing uncontrollably, or expelled so much that Gwen feared his lungs might collapse. And when that happened he'd draw short breaths, so there was barely any air in his lungs.

Gwen laid a hand over his forehead, and was shocked to feel how cold he was. And so _clammy_! His whole body was drenched in sweat. And his energy was running wildly at opposite ends of the spectrum! It was like the connections between his brain and the various, _essential_ parts of his body had been severed, and his whole being was thrown into complete and utter chaos.

His heart was beating the wrong way; instead of going from atria to ventricles and then pumping from the bottom up, it was beating wildly out of control and barely enough blood was being forced through the right way, back to his body. His lungs were refusing to work in tandem, and one was filling itself to bursting point while the other had barely any and the walls were so dangerously close to sticking together. The nervous system was misfiring and causing him to convulse – sending mixed signals and only getting the one message to the brain that told him he was in pain. And there was that system she had felt in River when they'd melded their minds; the extra one that Osmosians' had and that in River acted as another lymph system. In Kevin, this seemed to have been shut off for some time now and held the resonance of disuse, but a part of it had been active – if only for a short space of time – from his throat where his skin had been a few moments ago. It was from this point that the pain was spreading, infiltrating his nervous system and upsetting the delicate balance within his body.

"Kevin!" Gwen pleaded desperately, stroking his face and trying to get into his mind. "Please! Can you hear me?" She was met with a violent rebuttal – his mind wasn't functioning properly and it was locking her out automatically in its own defence. There was nothing she could do to get through to him. A dry sob tried to get past her lips, but Gwen gritted her teeth and swallowed it down.

"Gwen!"

She looked up and Mikey bounced into sight before landing beside them, and purposefully threw his front paws forward so that he stood squarely over Kevin's twitching body, snarling as one of the Veer'natda drew closer.

Gwen looked up, and quailed under the wrathful glare it gave her.

"Take my blood meal from me, will you?" it spat, raising its hands high above its head before it shrieked something.

Gwen threw up a shield to meet the blow just in time, and closed her eyes, fighting to think clearly with such an onslaught plus Kevin's cries of pain to contend with.

And then suddenly the Veer'natda wasn't there anymore.

Mikey and Gwen looked up in astonishment and saw Grandpa Max walk over to the small pod sitting on the ground and pick it up.

"Null Void Egg," he explained when the shield was let down and Mikey scuttled over for a better look, sniffing at the devise. "We got the other two that were lurking around. Miley's tending to Lea's broken leg,"

Ben came flying out of nowhere, and landed beside Gwen. His jacket was torn and there was blood trickling down his face from a severe cut _just_ above his left eye – any lower and he could have it altogether. "Is he okay?" he demanded to know.

Gwen fought back another sob. "No! I can't do anything! It's like every part of his body's out of control! _I can't do anything!_" her concentration broke completely and the glowing bands that had held Kevin still disintegrated, leaving him free to move.

And move he did, almost smashing Ben in the face as his shoulder twitched, making his entire arm jerk upwards.

"Argh!" Ben jumped out of the way just in time, stared at Kevin in horror for a moment before trying to restrain him by hand. "What the hell happened!" he shouted at Gwen.

"I don't know!" she screamed back. "You think if I knew I wouldn't be doing something to help him!"

Someone nearby swore and then River was also at her side, with Mel in tow and a huge box of med supplies. Gwen looked up at her expression, which mirrored Ben's shock.

"What happened?" she said, reaching forward to feel for a pulse. Kevin groaned loudly, and narrowly missed taking her eye out with his clawed hands.

"I don't know!" Gwen raised a hand to wipe her hair from her face, and it came away wet. Oh, she was crying.

Mikey was suddenly on her other side, leaning against her and rubbing his face into her shoulder, making the closest canine equivalent to a purr for comfort.

"Out the way, out the way!" River snapped at him, trying to get onto Kevin's other side and grabbed his head. "Stop it! I _know_ you can here me!" she said loudly, and for a moment Kevin stopped thrashing, the only sound his harsh breathing, before it started again, only more violently this time.

"Fight it!" River shook him and he yelled something unintelligible in response. "There's a toxin in your blood system – you _have to fight it_ or it's going to kill you! You understand? You're one of the best young recruits the Plumber's have seen in a long time, and you're no use to anyone dead!"

Gwen didn't know if anything River was saying was getting through – she'd felt for herself how his body was deteriorating so rapidly, and his mind had rejected her in it stricken state. Was there anything River could do?

"Argh!" she grabbed his shoulders and shook him again, her eyes flashing green for a moment before sinking into a bright blueish-silver. "You die on me and _I'll kill you_, you got that? I've put too much in for you to just end it all like this! Think about your mom! Your sister!" he gnashed his teeth together and cried out again, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth where he'd apparently bitten his tongue. "And your friends! What are they gonna do without you? Think of them! Think of Gwen – you just gonna bow out of this meekly or are you going to fight it? For her?"

Gwen buried her face in Mikey's fur as Kevin gave a half strangled sob followed by a violent coughing fit. It was just too horrible to listen to.

"Mel, get me that vial. In fact – get me _five_ of them! Thanks, now go get Miley and I don't gave a shit what she's doing if she's not here in the next five minutes he's _not_ going to make it,"

"What?" Gwen thrust Mikey out of the way to look at the older women in horror.

"Hold him still," River said, carefully unscrewing the vial. "I need to get this down his throat ASAP and I can't if he's thrashing around like this."

Gwen obeyed, and grabbed the arm Ben hadn't managed to pin down; Mikey sat on one leg and had to take the other with his jaw to hold him in place. That just left his head, which River sorted by grabbing a fistful of hair and pulling to the left. Gently, despite her excessive force, River tipped the vial between his lips and emptied the entire thing into his mouth.

It gave Gwen a heart attack when he nearly choked.

But somehow River managed to sit him up despite his wild thrashing and pound him on the back before getting him in a reverse strangle hold and telling Gwen to get another vial. She did so with shaking hands, and went to administer the medicine, but Kevin fought against River so hard that she lost her grip, and he ended up head butting Gwen. It alarmed her so much that she dropped the vial and spilt its contents on the ground.

"Don't worry," River said grimly, taking a stronger hold of him. "Take another one. I can hear Miley coming,"

Gwen tried again, and this time Ben held him firm, which made it much easier. Once the vial had been emptied into his mouth, River again had to massage Kevin's back to stop him from choking. It seemed to be working, because he was slowly starting to calm down. Miley took one look at the scene, went deathly pale, and started rummaging through her box of tricks before finding a few odd looking tools and setting to work.

"I think shutting down the nervous system for a moment will be our best bet. I'll have to do it again anyway once the toxin's out of his body,"

"Whatever you feel you need to do," River said grimly, stilling holding him up from behind and placing her hand under his chin in a bid to keep his windpipe clear. "Just do it."

Gwen couldn't keep going – she was too exhausted and distressed to think straight. She must have either fallen asleep or blanked out at some point, because her world kept fading in and out. One moment she was by Kevin's side, fighting back tears; the next she was curled up against Mikey's furry belly, his rough tongue against her cheek and a soft whimper in her ear for comfort; and then she was wrapped up in Ben's jacket, leaning against his shoulder in the front passenger seat of Steph's resurrected jeep.

And then she woke up to a full and glorious morning shining in through her bedroom window. She tried to get out of bed but her limbs felt like jelly, and she was too exhausted to move.

It took nearly fifteen minutes to muster the strength to get up, and she found a note on her bedside table, hastily scribbled in Ben's handwriting.

_Gwen,_

_Kevin's all right – for now._

_He's severely dehydrated and Miley's camped out at his for the moment to keep an eye on him. River's been back and forth with Mel over night, and Ian's been scouting around for proper Osmosian medicines for him._

_We didn't want to wake you, but when you're up PLEASE come over and help out if you can, I don't think we can do this without you._

_Ben_

_PS you've got the week off school :D just so you know_

Gwen was already on her way to her dressing table before she'd finished reading the note. Her parents were apparently at work, so it wasn't a surprise when she came down and found the house empty. There was a note from her mother telling her dinner would be late that evening, and that was it. Grabbing a single slice of toast, Gwen raced back upstairs and threw some clothes, her hairbrush, toothbrush and pyjamas into a duffle bag.

Mikey – bless his immortal soul – was outside her house about a minute after her initial text message, and said nothing as she locked the front door behind her but handed over the spare jacket and helmet wordlessly. He had never been one to disobey traffic laws, and it was a good thing they didn't come across any cops on the way to Kevin's house, because he was dodging traffic and zipping through red lights like there was no tomorrow.

Cain answered the door, looking rather pale and worn, but Gwen pushed past and ran for the stairs without even trying to be polite. Mikey must have made some excuse because he was much slower in following, but that was all driven from her mind as she crashed through the door to Kevin's room.

Miley looked up from the circle of books, bowls and bags of powder that lay around her. Mel was perched on the end of the bed in the corner with another bowl sat in her lap, murmuring over the smouldering contents. Lea was sitting in Kevin's swivel chair before the computer, tapping out urgently against the keyboard and jotting things down on a piece of paper before lifting his badge and speaking to Ian, absently rubbing his bandaged leg from time to time.

Kevin himself was lying on a low mattress on the floor, surrounded by many different bottles and vials and covered in a thick blanket. There was also an icepack floating in a bowl of half melted ice cubes set on the floor by his head. River was sat in a very uncomfortable looking position with her first and second fingers pressed against the side of his neck, her eyes closed and her expression pained.

"Gwen!" Miley dropped everything and sprang to her feet.

"Is he alright?" she demanded as Miley gave her a quick hug.

"I could really use your help," she said, avoiding the question and eye contact.

"Anything!" Gwen said, dropping her bag as Mikey ran into the room.

"Here," Miley gave her a thick book bound in leather and written in a strange language. Upon closer inspection, it was one of the languages her spell book was written in. "I can't use acupuncture on him," Miley explained. "I can't get the needles in, so I can't do five element to help with the flow of chi."

"What do you need me to do?" Gwen asked, fingering the worn leather bindings, watching Kevin closely in case he had another fit. But he looked calm enough – _too_ calm, perhaps, and River was watching over him. Albeit with a frown on her face, but he was being looked after.

"Just study chapters three to ten – you won't need the rest, you already understand chi. Learn where the points are and then we can sort out a plan from there,"

"What are you intending to do?"

"Well…" Miley took a hair band from her pocket and tied her unruly hair back into a messy bun before continuing. "I'm hoping that if I direct you, you'll be able to stimulate the chi channels and get everything working in the right order again. Okay," she waved Gwen over to the bed and sat her down before giving her a lecture. "The idea of five element acupuncture is that when you're ill chi moves the wrong way around your body, like how if you've got an upset stomach food comes up the wrong way – that kind of thing. What happened is there's a few nasty components to Veer'natda saliva that cause various things in various species. It's sod's law that they preyed on Kevin because there's an enzyme that disrupts the Osmosian body so severely it often results in-"

Gwen couldn't stop her intake of breath, and Miley stopped, giving her a hug and saying softly, "But he's part human as well, which must have slowed the process down. There's still a fair few toxins floating around and we need to encourage his body to get rid of them himself. He's just too weak after fighting off the initial poison, and that's where the acupuncture _would_ come in if I could use it. So you just read through this," she said, giving Gwen's hand a comforting squeeze, "and River and I will keep him hydrated."

Gwen nodded, and opened the book to the indicated chapters. She looked up when she felt a hand on her knee; Mel gave her a very deep look and said, "He'll be fine, Gwen."

She swallowed though her throat was dry, and nodded. Mikey scuttled across the room, avoiding all the objects strewn across the floor and dived for the space on the bed behind Gwen. He phased, and rolled onto his side, exposing the softer fur of his belly, which she leant against for comfort. He licked her cheek before setting his head down against the rumpled covers of the bed.

Gwen bit her lip before reaching over his head and grabbing the pillow from against the headboard and pressed it against Mikey's side. He made no comment or move to stop her, so she buried her face against it, inhaling Kevin's scent deeply and finding herself feeling much calmer than before. With the book still open at chapter three, she settled in for a long day of reading.

XOXOX

River knew deep down that she should listen to her friends and let Mel drag her back to her house and get some sleep, but she couldn't bring herself to go. She'd slept rough on the streets of New York City, and many a slum area of various Indian cities; the floor of a basement in a well-heated American suburban house was a doddle compared to that.

But she needed rest herself, and power napping while Miley dealt with heating and cooling, and giving Kevin water didn't really count as sleep.

Gwen skipped the whole week of school to help, and under Miley's direction she helped his body cope after the onslaught he'd suffered. It was painstakingly slow, since it took so much effort on Gwen's part – and River helped out in what little way she could, namely giving Gwen her own strength. She had to pull a barrier up around her womb to ensure that the baby wasn't affected by the transfer of energy, but Gwen wouldn't go near her as point of principal, so everything was fine.

Mikey was often there, lending mutual support, or off with Sally, updating her on Kevin's status and telling her the rumours to feed to her class mates. So far, Kevin had meningitis, glandular fever, lymes disease, norovirus, a broken spine, and for some strange reason HIV, although Sally swore she had first heard that one in the cafeteria and she hadn't started it at all.

Kids…honestly! It was like they had nothing better to waste their time on…

That was like after the accident when River got back to school, everyone thought she'd died, they hadn't seen her in so long! The handful of people who had bothered to visit her in the hospital knew she was still alive – everyone else decided it was far more fun to feed the rumour mill.

Kevin was going to have fun facing the questions when he got back into class…

It was towards the end of the week that Kevin actually stirred, when everyone else was asleep; they took it in turns to keep watch in case he choked on his own tongue or became too dehydrated or _God_ only knew what else could go wrong. Ben had come by to relieve Gwen of her vigil, and bullied her onto Mikey's bike before taking over with Steph.

Lea had gone to collect supplies from Ian, who was still hovering round the medical market in Osmos 5 waiting for a shipment. Miley had convinced Mel that she could handle River by herself, and once their friend had gone she completely caved when River said she'd watch for fifteen minutes to give Miley a rest.

That was about two hours ago now.

Ben had taken to the bed, wearing a pair of jeans that put even Steph's wardrobe to shame, and an old t-shirt that had seen better days. Steph was in her best khakis and worst tank top, coordinating black with dark blue and dark brown – it was an abomination that River was glad Miley was asleep for, until tomorrow that is…

Steph was curled up in her usual cat like fashion on the floor in a nest of blankets and pillows. Cari had supplied them with everything they needed, and left them to it. River had kept her posted regularly, and when Miley had announced that he may need to be hospitalised, as they couldn't hydrate him fast enough, she'd lent his mother her shoulder. She could remember looking after her godson one time when his parents were up in Scotland – she'd done everything she could to keep his fever under control, but when it hit the danger mark and kept going she'd called the ambulance.

This wouldn't be as easy to explain away to the doctors at the hospital… But River remembered keeping a brave face for little Eddie and smiling to keep him happy while inside feeling her gut twist horribly and the weight of responsibility dragging at her shoulders. When it was your own flesh and blood, and not just someone you were emotionally bonded too…yikes! Cari must have been feeling terrible, though after one crying fit she managed to keep a lid on her emotions.

So when everyone but River was asleep and Kevin started stirring, she grabbed the cool box Mikey had left and quickly got out a plain piece of white crusty bread and pulled the thick crust from it. She briefly considered before spreading a tiny amount of butter over it, and poured water from the jug into a plastic cup, setting all this aside and waiting for Kevin to come back to reality.

"Nrrgh…" he clamped a hand to his forehead and groaned quietly.

"Sit up," River said, supporting his neck as he struggled to look round.

"Where the hell am I…?"

"At home. Here," she dropped a tablet into the water and pressed the glass to his lips. "Drink this. _Slowly_."

Kevin complied without objection, and once he'd finished that she handed him half the piece of bread, and he chewed on that slowly before swallowing and asked, "What happened?"

"Basically," River tried to inject humour into the moment. "You got bitten by a mad crazed vampire and we almost lost you. You any idea how close you came to actually dieing? How dare you screw up Steph's master plan!"

Kevin tried to laugh, but it hurt his lungs too much, so she propped him up against a stack of pillows and laid his head back. "Don't strain yourself. You're still pretty weak,"

"But _what_ happened…I remember sneaking up on the Veer'natda…and then…"

"She bit you," River told him, deciding she'd better not beat around the bush. "I don't know how, but she got through this," she tapped his arm. "And once the poison got into your system, that was it," she flicked her hand in a gesture she hoped his mind would understand – which from his unfocused and blank stare, he hadn't. "Basically you had a very violent reaction to it because you're part Osmosian, and you came pretty close to going into a coma."

River knew that feeling, and if she ever dwelled on it (which she tried very hard not to) the crushing sense of oblivion, and knowing that while you were unconscious life just went on by without you. It was one of the most demoralizing things she could remember about the year she'd spent in the hospital.

"Is Gwen okay?" he croaked.

River looked up, startled before laughing. "Oh, she's fine physically. Just worried sick over you. _I'm_ pretty concerned too, all things considered." She outwardly cringed when she thought back to the initial administration of the drugs, when he'd been a near lifeless bundle of nerves and flailing limbs. That was…most unpleasant, to say the very least on the topic. The already half healed bruises she'd sustained were nothing compared to the terror she'd felt, trying to hold him still long enough to get the drugs into his system before permanent damage was done. She never wanted to see Kevin in that state again – she was far too fond of the boy to be objective and watch on by with a dispassionate and clinical eye.

"Sssorry…" he slurred his words together. "I juss…"

"Ssh," River put a hand over his eyes and felt his lashes flutter as he closed them. "Get some rest. Here, have some more water," she helped him take a few more sips. "Keep you hydrated – that's the biggest worry at the moment. Go to sleep, I've got my eye on you."

"Oh and isn't that just comforting…?" he managed to say clearly and with a sarcastic tone.

"Well," she said, gently pushing him back down onto the mattress and feeling his temperature. "If you've got the strength for sarcasm I'm sure you'll be _just _fine."

His answer was to snore in her face.

"You die on me now," she told the sleeping boy, unable to keep the wry smile from her lips. "I'm _so_ going to kill you."

River kept tipping a little bit of water into his mouth every so often until her eyes started to droop, and she eventually tugged at Steph's trouser leg.

"Nnnngh!" she rolled over, and River whacked her smartly on the ankle and she fairly jumped out of her skin. "Wha! Vilgax – fish cake – _Shit!_"

"You're on duty," River said, nodding at Kevin. "Gimme a pillow and stop hogging them all!"

"Okay…what do I do again?" Steph said, suddenly wide-eyed and afraid of being left in control.

"Give him water. If he wakes up give him some plain bread with a bit of butter. And loads of water. There's a bottle of pills with a blue label – put one in the water and don't give him more than one an hour."

"Right," Steph crawled across the floor and sat down beside him, looking at the array of shiny bottles and implements of healing. "Okay…I think I can do this…"

"Any problems wake Miley. She's had a long nap," River threw the blankets and pillows in a heap alongside her friend and collapsed face first into it. "Gah!" she quickly rolled onto her side, her ever-growing bump nearly squished by the force of gravity. "You'd think I'd _remember_ I had you in there," she said, tapping the bump gently with the fingers of her left hand. "What am I gonna do with you? You're not even fully formed and you're already a nuisance!" she grinned to herself, looking up at the ceiling. "Oh, you're Daddy's girl all right!"

"Umm…"

River looked up to see Steph giving her _the look_. It was the look she'd given her the first time she'd seen River come out of a fit, well after the car accident. It was something they'd all gotten accustomed to over time. This was something new.

"Could you not do that? Firstly, it's distracting, and secondly, you sound like a freak."

"I can't talk to my baby?" River asked innocently, closing her eyes and yawning widely.

"I didn't mean…argh!" Steph beat her fist against the floor. "Just that, it's all weird and shit when you do that! Stop talking to it, it can't even hear you yet!"

"_It_ has a gender," River snapped irritably, her patience that had been expended on Kevin running thin with Steph. "She's my little baby girl and I'll bloody well talk to her when I feel like it."

"Sorry," Steph spat, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at the swivel chair. "I didn't know being a mother meant you could become a grade a bitch to everyone else."

"You're showing all the classic signs of jealousy," River commented, stroking her bump. "Trust me, my love for you guys won't ever change. I'll just have a little less time to give it to you."

"Can I come up and see your house?" Steph said, suddenly excited. "Kevin said it was _way_ cool, and-!"

"Summer," River promised, wondering just how big she'd be by that point. Would she carry small and just look fat, or balloon into a whale so there was no doubt she was pregnant?

Steph probably said something, but River couldn't remember after that point as she slipped into a weird dream that she couldn't remember when Miley woke her up hours later, with ire in her eyes.

"Oh sod off and stick your head in a pig," she said and yawned widely in her face before burying herself in the blankets again.

"Oh, River _Isabella_," Miley snarled, grabbing her ankle but not quite dragging her across the floor like she so wanted to. "If you weren't pregnant, I'd-!"

"Shut up and piss off. Oh! Actually, before you do that, could you get me some nutella and peanut butter?"

"Taylor!" Miley whined, leaning against the wall. "Where the _hell_ are you when I need you! Bitch…" she added, glowering at River.

She merely shrugged and dived for her pillow. It would be another long day…

XOXOX

**…Carried away may be an understatement xD I don't know when the next update will be, because I've been lumped with babysitting over the weekend, and I still have work and revision…**

**Anyways, hope you liked the chapter, and thank you so much to you all who've been reviewing :) have a huge plate of virtual cookies, you awesome people! :D :D :D and have a great Easter! ;)**

**xxx**


	41. Recuperation

**AN: Easter! :D at least it is in my time zone xD I don't remember how this works out, but Happy Easter to all and to all a huge pile of chocolate! :) so I somehow found the time to write, another loooooong chapter xD ah, such were the days when I struggled to find anything to write about! Now there's so much I'm cramming it all in to make sure I don't forget anything ;)**

**I actually feel my writing's get disjointed and too compact… :S I dunno, it feels kinda rushed. Let me know what you think!**

**Enjoy! :D**

_**Recuperation**_

The first word that sprang to mind was: _Ow_.

And then Kevin forced his eyes open and blinked in the harsh light that scraped against his vision. He put a hand to his forehead and groaned, trying to sit up and finding that River wasn't there to help him up. Where the hell was she? Some guardian angel…_thing_ she was turning out to be!

Someone said something from the other end of the room, and suddenly there was a pressure around his neck. Kevin wheezed for air and flailed, unable to keep his balance, but he heard her gasp clearly.

"_Kevin!_" Gwen breathed in his ear, stroking his hair and sounding on the verge of tears.

He wanted to reach up and hold her in his arms, do all the soppy stuff like wipe her tears away and tell her it would all be okay – and screw who else was in the room! The only problem was he had no energy beyond burying his nose in her hair.

"I was so worried about you!" she said quietly, still holding him.

"Sorry…" he managed before he started coughing painfully.

Gwen helped him sit up and fussed over him, before slowly giving him more buttered beard and getting him to drink some water.

"How long have I been out of it?" he asked eventually. He was sure River had told him last time he woke up, but he couldn't remember.

"A whole week," she bit her lip. "My parents said I have to go back for the last week of school, but I really don't want to…"

"I'm fine," he tried to convince her, but he fell back against the pillows when his head started too hurt a bit too much to cope with.

"You're better than you were," was all she said, a hand over his forehead.

It was silent for quite a while, and Kevin watched as Gwen busied herself with some schoolwork, sitting beside him on the floor and steadily working her way through some trig questions.

"Where's everyone else?" he asked finally, looking around his room. "Hey, what the hell's Ben doing _on my bed_?"

"Sleeping," Gwen said distractedly. "What else do you do on a bed?"

Kevin cringed and was eternally thankful that Ben wasn't awake and Steph wasn't in the room – he'd _never_ hear the end of the suggestions Steph could come up with on the spot. That, and he didn't want to think about it…

"But why is he in _my_ bed?" Kevin whined.

"Because I think there would be a few objections if he tried to sleep you your mom's bed or your _sister's_." Gwen said pointedly.

Kevin blinked, trying to focus his vision. "But it's _my_ bed!" he whinged.

"Ben sat up all night making sure your fever didn't go any higher," Gwen said softly. "Miley thought we'd have to get you to a hospital because it was getting dangerously high, but Ben asked her to give him six more hours and kept giving you water and throwing icepacks over your head."

Kevin kept his mouth shut as he processed this information. Ben had his back to them, so he couldn't see, but from the awkward angle in which his arms were sticking out, it looked as though he'd just crashed there.

"Really?" he asked after a long minute of silence.

"He's been almost as worried about you as me," she said gently, taking his hand.

"I feel sick…" Kevin said suddenly, clutching at his stomach. It was that sort of lurching feeling you get, right before the horrible sensation that claws its way up and down your throat right before your stomach muscles clench.

"You've been really ill," Gwen said, stroking his hair. "Of course you feel sick,"

"No," he moaned, not wanting to throw up in front of her. He couldn't stand the humiliation of an audience, especially not his girlfriend – or the fact that he'd probably be sick on _her_…

"Come on," Gwen said soothingly, picking up the glass of water from the side.

"No, _really_," Kevin tried to sit up and grimaced, wondering if he could make it to the bathroom by himself. "I think I'm gonna…"

He really hated himself for what happened next; Kevin only just managed to roll over in time to throw up on the other side of the mattress, and away from Gwen before he passed out again.

When he came round again, Ben was sitting beside him, rifling through a book loudly by his ear.

"Oh no," he groaned, trying to bury himself under the pillows. "Not you…"

Ben grinned and snapped the book shut, tossing it to one side and leaning against his elbows on his knees. "Welcome back to reality, glad you could make it!"

Kevin tried to glare at him, but his vision faded in and out too much – and there were those weird light spiders with too many legs dancing in his sight.

"You okay?" the grin slid from Ben's face and he became way too serious; it was actually kinda creepy…

"No…" he groaned, rubbing his temples. Then he suddenly remembered. "Where's Gwen?"

"At school. Our principle's mother died like yesterday so our schools closed. Julie's leaving early to go to Japan to see her grandparents." The thought made him looked depressed for a moment, before he brightened up and said, "It's the last week of the school year! We all sort of missed the various end of year school dances though…"

"Huh?" everything was spinning again, and Kevin had to clamp his eyes shut to stop himself from being sick again. But there was nothing left in him to regurgitate, so he supposed it didn't really matter anyway.

"Well, Gwen had been thinking about dragging you to hers, but that's when the whole thing with the Veer'natda came up, and then you went and nearly _died_ on us, so none of us went because we were trying to keep you alive," he said this in a mockingly accusing tone, but Kevin didn't respond. "Anyway," Ben ploughed on. "Steph's gone to get some stuff from Ian, then she's coming back here. Mikey's been taking Gwen too and from school, and he's been going on house hunts when he's off duty. He thinks he's found a place already! And all by himself too,"

Normally this would be the point where Kevin hit him and told him to shut up, but actually Ben's ramblings kept him from feeling too nauseous, so he listened intently.

Apparently, River had left after threatening Ben with divine retribution if she came back and so her words had all but lost their bite. Miley was upstairs, making tea or something random, and Lea was on his way back from Max with…something weird. It all kept fading in and out…

It was a relief when Steph burst into the room and threw herself at Kevin – she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed so hard he thought he'd be sick again. But then she kicked Ben out of the way, sat herself down in his place, and started a lovely round of banter. By the time Ben had stalked off grumbling, and Gwen had come back from school, he was feeling a whole lot better.

Eventually, the following evening, River tricked him into standing up and walking. It was so stupid when he realised that she'd done it, and he could have kicked himself if his tenuous balance permitted it.

River nabbed his guitar and sat on the corner of the mattress – which was absolutely fine until she began playing _Love Story_, which was _not_ fine at all. Kevin complained, and made a lunge for her. River got up and moved four feet away, smiling snidely at him. When he made another lunge she got up and sat down on the bed at the other end of the room. When he got up and chased after her to drop the guitar on the bed and took a step back, arms raised and grinning to herself.

"What?" he spat, snatching his guitar up and nursing it in his arms. She was _never ever_ touching his father's instrument again!

"You can walk!" she said, with a ridiculously happy grin on her face because laughing at his stunned expression.

"Damn you!" he pretended to raise the guitar to strike her across the face, but he toppled over instead and Steph had to drag him back to the mattress, the world still spinning before his eyes.

"Did you learn that in your lectures?" his mother asked, intensely curious as she came in with a tray of steaming mugs.

River laughed, accepting the hot chocolate before saying, "Actually, it's what my friend did to get me out of the hospital bed after my car accident. The doctors said 'oh she'll never walk again' and my Ex,"

"The gay one?" Kevin put in, ignoring his mother's stern look.

"Yeah, that's it; Dean. The blonde guy on Facebook with the buzz cut," she added, taking a sip of her drink. "Anyway, he threw a CD on with the most _obnoxious_ rap music I've ever heard, and walked out of the room with the most annoying grin ever-"

"More annoying than Ben's?"

"Ssh! I'm telling a story! Anyway, so I drag myself out of the hospital bed and switch the music off, and then he swans into the room with three of my brother's clapping his hands and jeering about it, so I ran after him to show him just how unhappy I was about being tricked – and then I broke my ankle."

Kevin snorted with laughter, and his mom cuffed his gently round the head.

"But that's a whole different kettle of fish…" River ended the discussion there.

Mikey snuck a few choice articles of junk food past Miley, after insisting that they could handle anything that cropped up, she sniffed dubiously before packing the majority of her things and leaving, making sure Gwen still had the acupuncture book. River gave them all a surreptitious look before saying, "If he's sick on all of that," she pointed at the growing pile of crap Mikey was pulling out of his saddlebags, whistling a merry tune to himself. "You can clean it up. I'm you Agony Aunt, _not_ your personal slave,"

"We never said anything like that!" Ben snapped, highly irritated by her assumption.

"Oh, I know that," she assured him. "But _these_ two," she narrowed her eyes at Mikey and Steph.

Steph gave them all an all-too-innocent grin, and Mikey made a very soft, nervous sort of laugh before he cleared his throat. "No no no! Because I've never been sick on Cheetohs and Wagon Wheels in my life…!"

River pointed at him and said, "I've so got my eye on you _Michael_." And then she left to follow Miley.

"I hate that name!" Mikey threw a wobbler.

"It's not _that_ bad…" Gwen said, touching his arm but he shook it off.

"Yeah it is," Steph and Kevin snorted in unison.

_Stupid Darkstar…_was more or less the tenor of his thoughts, but Steph was thinking on a different plain.

"It's such a gay name! It sounds so…" she made a noise of disgust and dived into the potato chips. "Oooh marmite flavoured!"

"Yuck!" Ben complained, throwing them against the wall.

"And I don't like Mike, either," Mikey was still fuming.

"Why not?" Gwen hedged, poking him in the ribs.

"Because it's a name all the Chav's on the Common had, and it's a builders name, and _I hate it!_" he whined.

"Quit your bitchin'!" Steph threw a packet of biscuits at him, making him topple off the end of the bed. "Down the hatches!" she crowed, downing half a bottle of lemonade in one go.

"Oh God," Mikey covered his eyes and buried his face in the bedcover by his head. "The last time she did that I was picking bits of carrot out of my hair for days…"

"What, Steph chundered carrots all over you?" Ben laughed.

"No! She threw me in a vegetable patch." Mikey glared at her, smiling back at him so innocently. "And then the compost heap, you _bitch_,"

"But I'm sure," Gwen put in innocently, and Kevin knew she was about to be torn to shreds. "You all love each other very much,"

There was a long, overly dramatic pause in which everyone gave her looks ranging from demented to disbelieving.

Mikey recovered first, shaking his head and planted himself down beside her, giving her a meaningful hug and saying, "I'm sorry dear, but you must have the wrong place. See, this is planet _Earth_, yeah?"

Steph threw something at him – Kevin didn't get to see what it was – and Mikey pounced on her with a shriek. Gwen disentangled herself from the fray and scuttled to Kevin's side, and he took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Ben plonked himself down on the other side of the mattress, methodically chewing his way through a bag of potato chips.

"My money's on Mikey," he said conversationally.

"Nah," Kevin said, watching as he toppled over off the end of the bed and Steph went in for the kill. "Steph's got the upper hand."

"I just don't care," Gwen said primly, opening her book to continue reading.

Kevin waited until her attention was fully occupied elsewhere, before he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his lips against her throat. Gwen squeaked in surprise, and he chuckled at her – until Ben growled and stalked off to the computer.

"Rub it in, why don't you?" he snarled.

Kevin was completely clueless until Gwen reminded him, "Julie's going to Japan, and she won't be back until the last week of August."

"Boohoo," Kevin shrugged.

"Hey!" Steph bounced onto the end of the mattress, making them both jump. "Wanna play Halo 3?" she waved her favourite limited-edition controller in his face. "Its _blue_!" she said tantalisingly.

"Go on then," he rolled his eyes, snatching it from her hands.

"I'm gonna wipe the floor with you!" Mikey jumped on Steph's back.

He ended up in a heap by the door once Steph was finished with him.

XOXOX

Once Miley decided that Kevin had made a satisfactory recovery, she packed up her medical supplies and pushed off. Taylor came back down like an avenging angel to demand to know what had kept River so distant and distracted from his text messages, and she went off to meet him with a resigned look on her face. Lea rolled his eyes and shooed Mikey and Steph out, dragging Ben with him, and for some reason forgetting to get Gwen to leave as well.

Not that she or Kevin complained; he made a show of slamming his bedroom door after they had left and shouting, "Good riddance!" at no one in particular.

Gwen laughed, and spent the rest of that afternoon curled up by his side on the bed, reading her book. _Dark Fall_ kept her occupied for only so long, however, and soon she abandoned it in favour of snuggling up against Kevin's side. He threw his arm casually around her shoulders and propped his sketchbook up against his leg, copying a design from River's book with special attention to the details. His aura felt much calmer now, and she listened to the steady thrum of his heart – strong and regular - beating

They lay in comfortable silence for well over an hour before either of them said anything, but eventually Kevin broke into the tranquil moment with a random question.

"You comfortable?"

"Yes," she cuddled up against him even more to prove the point.

When he said nothing she sat up to look him in the eyes. His eyebrow was arched questioningly at her expression.

"What?"

"Hugging a rock can't be _that_ comfy."

It was Gwen's turn to raise her eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Kevin waved his arms as a response.

"I can _assure_ you that I am quite comfortable." She said primly.

Kevin rolled his eyes dramatically. "You're just saying that," he accused her.

"No!" Gwen said indignantly. How could he not realise? "Look," she laid her hand over the centre of his chest, just below the breastbone, and pressed hard against him. As she expected, his body moulded itself around her hand. Looking up, she saw him watching her face, frowning in puzzlement. She looked pointedly down at her hand, and his followed her gaze.

"Argh!" Kevin yelped, making her jump, and suddenly she found she couldn't move her hand; it was partially trapped by rock and metal.

Gwen stared at him in amazement, while Kevin gaped at her hand, sunk into his chest.

"What the…?" he said weakly.

"I…" Gwen bit her lip, realising she'd made a big mistake. "I thought you knew about that…"

"No!" he said faintly, still in shock.

"Um," Gwen tried to remove her hand, but found that she couldn't. "I can't move my hand…"

Kevin regarded her expression closely before looking down at her had again. He closed his eyes and visibly fought to relax – and eventually she felt the grip on her hand soften until she gently pried her hand from his chest.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out when she rubbed her palm studiously.

"No, it's okay," she soothed him. "I just…thought you knew."

Kevin didn't look disgusted with himself, like she had feared he would – merely stunned.

"It's really quite comfortable," she hedged, hoping to ease the tension.

Kevin laughed nervously, his voice breaking on several occasions before he cleared his throat loudly. Gwen giggled, unable to help herself, and he managed to give her a lopsided smile.

"Glad I amuse you,"

Gwen smiled, still giggling, and leant up to kiss his lips. "You're such a goof!"

He threw his hand into the air in defeat, tipping his sketchbook onto the floor with River's Art Bible, and said, "And there goes my reputation!"

"Aww, it can't be _that_ bad!" Gwen teased, running her fingers through his hair.

"_You_," he poked her in the ribs, accusation in his eyes. "Made me go all soft. I can't scare people anymore when I'm trying to cut a deal!" His eyes widened when he realised what he'd just said, and he quickly shut up.

"Oh really?" she said, smirking and deciding to let him off the hook…_this_ time.

"Yeah," since she wasn't scolding him, Kevin took advantage of her leniency. "So I blame _you_,"

"I never asked you to love me," she pointed out.

"No," Kevin agreed, tugging her ponytail playfully. "But you _commanded_ me to take you on a date. _Loads_ of times,"

"Because you weren't willing to admit you _liked_ me,"

"Oh," his nose wrinkled as he frowned. "I don't _like_ you,"

Gwen smiled sweetly at his scowl.

"You're one of the most infuriating people I've ever met!"

"Ditto," she smiled, thinking back on all the irritating things he'd ever done.

"Only because you started it…"

"No, _you_ did." She snapped.

"Did not!"

"You so did!"

They glared at each other for a moment, before Gwen came out with something he hadn't expected.

"You were the one who snuck up on me at the market."

Kevin regarded her warily before saying, "Which one?"

"After I met you at the rest stop in the desert." She reminded him.

He didn't say anything; instead, he raised his hand and tugged at the band in her hair until it came loose and slid over her shoulders. She swept it back automatically, and Kevin tangled his fingers into the locks, his hand pressed against her shoulder blades.

"I like it when your hair's down," he said softly.

Gwen smiled and closed her eyes, leaning forward until their foreheads met and their noses brushed against each other. She opened her eyes when she heard him say her name.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

A pleasant tension was held in his gaze, one that sent pleasurable tingles down her spine. The light from the window high above the bed stained his dark eyes with all those golden tones that she'd come to cherish in his gaze.

"For everything." He told her, tilting his head to reach her lips.

Gwen pulled back, determined to wheedle this out of him before she let him kiss her. "Define 'everything'."

"For helping me change my life around. For not giving up on me. For loving me when you could do so much better," he ignored her rolling eyes. "For sticking round and putting up with all the crap I pull, not matter how badly I treat you…just," he broke their gaze, looking down at the book on the floor. "Everything," he said again.

"Kevin," she said gently, waiting for him to muster the courage to meet her gaze again. When he did, she cupped his face with her free hand and kissed him deeply, smiling when she felt him respond instantly. "Thank _you_," she said, pulling back just enough to catch her breath and tell him what she was thinking.

"What for?" he gave her a lazy smile.

"For trying so hard," she tilted his head and kissed the corner of his mouth.

"I wouldn't do it just for anyone," he told her, his cheeks darkening in a blush.

"That's why I love you."

He kissed her again, but he seemed suddenly distracted, and when he stopped he leant over to his bedside table and rummaged around in the drawer.

"Can I borrow your locket one sec?" he asked her.

Curious, Gwen raised her hands behind her head and undid the catch of the chain that had more or less stayed around her neck since he'd given it to her. Kevin took it and rolled onto his side so that his shoulder blocked her view of what he was doing. She tapped him restlessly on his exposed side, but he didn't turn back to her until he'd finished what he was doing. He handed the locket to her, closed, so she dug her nail under the catch and swung it open.

In the opposite pane to the photo taken before the accident, was another picture that either Steph or Mikey had taken in one of their photo sprees. Kevin wasn't wearing his mask, and was leaning against the hood of his car, with Gwen sat between his legs – a large Mr Smoothies cup in her hands. He had his arms wrapped around her waist, and his chin resting on her shoulder; she was leaning slightly to one side, neck arched to allow him a better perch. They were both smiling widely, eyes on each other and not the camera.

"Steph took loads of photos she put on facebook, but she didn't put any of the ones up where I wasn't wearing the mask," Kevin explained stiltedly, looking rather nervous. "I sort of asked her to give the rest of them to me…"

Gwen traced the edge of the frame with her finger, taking in his expression in the picture; he looked so decidedly _happy_ with her…

"Since you've stuck by me all this time, and you don't care about this…I wanted you to have another reminder of me…"

Gwen snapped the locket shut and then very deliberately hung it around her neck, tucked it inside her shirt where it laid itself over her heart. She kissed his cheek and curled herself up against his side.

"Thank you," she said again, smiling when she felt his lips against the crown of her head.

XOXOX

"Well, this is interesting." Max said, looking at the screen before him.

Lea was lounging in the seat alongside the table, watching Ian leisurely as he studied the cards in his hand.

"Go fish,"

Lea swore under his breath, checking his hand. If only Miley were here, she'd make sure he wasn't losing so badly…

"Something up, Max?" Ian asked, drumming his fingers against the tabletop.

"Vilgax is on the move."

"How nice for him," Lea dismissed.

"And I have a message from Professor Fitzwilliam, too." He added.

"Forward it to Riv. She'll need to see it," Lea said, trying to work out a strategy to beat Ian. "Hmm…"

"He wants to interview her personally," Max said, reading the Professor's message. "And he's asking me permission to drop by unexpectedly.

"You don't want to tell me that," Lea reminded him, picking up a card. "If River finds out she'll drag it out of me. Over several miles of bad road."

"You talk about her like she's a psycho," Ian said mildly, shuffling the cards around in his hands into a different order.

"She's pregnant," Lea shivered at the thought. "I'm not seeking to hide _anything_ from her, or she'll eat my soul for breakfast."

"Very odd cravings they have these days," Ian said innocently.

Lea snorted with laughter, and looked up at the older man, bent over his cards, deep in thought.

Ian was so much like Steph, it would have been scary if it didn't make so much sense – even physically they resembled each other, which was no surprise since Lea could remember meeting her for the first time, _years_ and years ago now, and wondering how someone as tiny and delicate as Michelle had spawned such a gangly girl like Steph. The angular face, the vivid red bands at the end of the hair – only the streaks in Ian's hair were much shorter, as his hair was also _much_ shorter than Steph's…

And then there were the eyes; that crystalline sky blue colour that she and Mel shared. There was no mistaking their lineage when stood beside their father.

"I found something interesting while I was scouting for medicine for Kevin," Ian said abruptly to Max.

"What was that?" the older man cam and joined them at the table of his RV, and looked over Lea's shoulder at his cards.

"Lost cause," he said, throwing his hand down and sipping his tea. "Anyway. Do tell, Ian."

He laughed before saying, "I found a trunk my parents kept for years after I went missing. There's a lot of old junk in there, but I have a few photos of my girls and a couple of holoprojectors. And I have some of Devin's old stuff too,"

This caught Max's interest, as well as Lea's.

"I thought Kevin might like them."

"What did you find?"

"Oh, his old pistol he left at the training camp, his old phone…and something wrapped up in brown paper with a note scribbled over the top saying it's for Kevin on his birthday. Doesn't say which, so I'll have to give that to Cari…"

"Ah," Max looked down at Lea's discarded cards. "Poor kid."

"I miss his father so much," Ian's eyes were tainted with a kind of sadness that Lea understood. "It's selfish to think that, after I've been given my family back, but still…"

"You were both a great loss to the Plumbers," Max put a hand on his arm.

"He still is," Ian sighed, running his free hand through his hair, making it stand up on end.

"And Kevin is a great addition to the organisation." Lea said firmly.

The other two men smiled, and Max said, "They all are."

"Yourself included, my good man!" Ian clapped Lea on the shoulder. "I suppose I'd better go and deliver my crap. I'll see you later Max,"

"Have a nice flight!" Lea teased, laughing when his hair was ruffled.

"Adios!" Ian called through the door before he closed it behind him.

"Such an amazing man," Lea said to himself, gathering up the cards and idly shuffling them in a flashy fashion.

"He is," Max agreed, reading a piece of paper off the kitchen counter top. "And a good friend."

"Kinda like Steph, really." Lea added.

XOXOX

"Dad!" Steph flung herself at Ian before he'd even crossed the threshold.

"Hello, Steph!" he pushed her through the front door and carried his trunk into the living room. "Where's your mother?"

"In the kitchen with Cari and Gerald. The kids are upstairs; Mel's out shopping with Miley and River. I don't think they'll be back until later because they said they'd eat out."

"And where's Kevin?"

"Upstairs," she shrugged and grinned, saying, "beating Ben's ass at Smash Brothers."

"Call him down will you? I have something to show you both,"

Steph gave him a quizzical look before launching herself towards the stairs and yelling, "KEVIN! Get'cha ass down here now!"

Ian unlocked the trunk and deftly slid the package right on top into the small leather satchel slung round his neck – the one marked for Kevin, and then began sorting through the things inside.

Steph rushed back into the room with Kevin behind her, looking mildly interested. "Hey Ian,"

"Hey," he grinned. "How are you now?"

"Loads better, thanks!"

"I have something for you," he withdrew Devin's gun from its box, and handed it to Kevin.

"Cool!" he enthused, his eyes bright with fascination. "They don't make these things anymore! Where'd you get it?"

"What is it?" Steph looked over his shoulder with mild interest.

"It's an SJC-92 Plumber's Issue assault pistol!"

"You know your guns," Ian observed. "That was Devin's,"

Kevin lowered it from the ready position he'd been standing in, pretending to trail it on Steph, and gaped at him. "My dad's?"

"Yeah. He left it at the training camp. I was meaning to give it to him, but I didn't manage to."

"What else you got?" Steph said, sticking her nose in the trunk.

"My parents kept most of my crap," Ian explained to her. "I found this while I was waiting for Kevin's medicine to arrive. I went through it and realised that I still had some of Devin's things," he looked up to see Kevin holding the gun as a devout Christian would hold the Holy Grail. "I thought you'd like them back,"

Kevin just nodded, not tearing his eyes away from his father's weapon. Steph stood three feet away from him, and bent over at the waist very deliberately to look at the underside of the gun.

"Look," she pointed, and he turned it over. "Devin Levin – code number 43121."

"Service number 58-29-11," Ian quoted by heart.

"What's yours?" Steph asked, diving into the trunk again.

"58-29-01."

Ian dug out a few more of Devin's belongings. "I don't even know _how_ I ended up with all this," he told Kevin, handing them over one at a time. "I suppose he must have had a load of my junk as well, somewhere. I never _did_ know what happened to my amp…"

Kevin took the things from him and sat down on the floor, spreading them in a wide circle around him. There was a bag about as long as his arm which had a compact two man tent packed away neatly inside; a leather holster that fit the SJC snugly; a service blanket designed to kept the heat either in or off (a clever Osmosian design); and leather bag that contained Devin's best lock picks.

"What the…how'd _that_ end up in there?" he scratched his head.

"You sure you didn't just steal them because they were so awesome?" Steph teased.

"No…" Ian was trying to figure it out when Michelle came into the room.

"Really!" she sighed loudly at the mess they'd made, right in the middle of the room."

"We'll be packed up in a moment," he promised, knowing from the look on Kevin's face that it would be a very _long_ moment.

Steph pulled out a flat, rectangular slab of black metal, and said, "What's this?"

"Oh, it's a bit like you smart phone," Ian took it from her and tapped the switch on the back. "It's more for media use than anything else. Kinda like a digital camera,"

"What you got on it?" Steph was leaning over his shoulder, staring at it intently.

"I guess we'll see,"

Cari smiled and said hello as she and Gerald walked into the room, and he grinned back.

"Don't mind us!" he said cheerfully.

"Or the mess," Steph added as her mother opened her mouth to speak.

"Look, mom!" Kevin bounced to his feet and thrust the gun into her startled hands. "It's dad's SJC!"

Cari carefully turned it over in her hands, eyes wide. "I thought he'd taken it with him," she said softly.

"It ended up in my box of tricks," Ian said after Steph snatched the slab from his hands. "I don't know how I managed it, but I've actually got a lot of his old gear. I thought Kevin would like it,"

"I can use this stuff!" he said, grinning from ear to ear and looking down at the pile of his father's belongings on the floor. He swooped down and began methodically sorting through it.

"Dad?"

Ian turned back to his daughter.

"How does this work?"

He took it from her and slid his fingers across the screen, dragging the icons out of the way and checking the files stored on the memory card. "Oh look! It's the Ball,"

Michelle and Gerald were deep in conversation with Cari, so he decided to show Steph and Kevin instead. He hit the play button and handed it over to Steph; Kevin watched from over her shoulder as the screen lit up with the light coming from a thousand candles in a beautiful chandelier, as the words 'Lasia'austra Spring Ball Earth' scrolled across the bottom.

Kevin gasped as a tall man who could have been him strolled across the screen, saw that it was being recorded, and pulled a smooth Michael Jackson-like dance move, swivelling on his back leg and stopping right in front of the recorder and pulled a very cheesy face.

Ian's laugh issued from the microphone in Steph's hands and said, "_Get out of it, Devin!_"

His friend laughed as well and walked out of the way. "_It's only a few hundred candles. Whoopty shit!_"

"_It's interesting on cultural grounds, and I want to remember this evening for the rest of my life!_"

"_Aww,_" Devin drawled, drawing out his Tennessee accent and slouching his way back into the frame. "_You should have said something! I would have put a different shirt on!_"

"_No bow tie?_" Ian shot back at him.

Devin stared at a point above the camera, one that they couldn't see from the screen, and said very innocently, "_I left it in my other shirt_."

"_Here,_" Ian set the camera down where they were both in full view, and walked back to him. "_Watch and learn_,"

"_It's a lost cause anyway_," Devin said impatiently as Ian pulled a spare tie from his pocket and slung it around his neck. "_Cari let me get away with it at our wedding. I just wore an open dress shirt! What's the big deal with the fancy-pants dress code, anyway? I can't even remember what denim_ looks_ like anymore!_"

"_Stop complaining!_" Ian slapped him round the face.

"_And another thing,_" Devin ranted on, unperturbed. "_What the _hell_ is up with the cutlery? I swear, there's normally only three of each utensil, but there's about seven on those tables over there! It's hard enough to remember which ones to use when there's more than two!_"

"_Outside to inside,_" Ian sighed, gesturing with his hands. "_And when in doubt, follow everyone else._"

"_I just want to go dancing…_" Devin lamented as Ian went back to the camera and scooped it. "_I can't remember the last time I did something fun with Cari…_"

"_Why don't you come over to my house afterwards? There's a shuttle headed down to Southampton from Hammersmith, and then it's just a bus ride to Portsmouth._"

"_I'll have to grab my son first,_" Devin said, starting to walk away from the chandelier, Ian following. "_Got a friend looking after him for the evening. You sure you don't mind him? What with your own girl…_"

"_Don't worry about it!_"

A bell rung somewhere in the distance, and they both cursed.

"_Duty calls…_" the Ian on the screen said, and he could remember rolling his eyes as he'd said it, though he was behind the camera.

"_Just shoot me now!_" Devin said dramatically, pretending to impale himself on an imaginary sword.

The screen jumped from that scene to another one, where the dance floor was packed with people milling around, and someone was holding the camera for Ian. Steph gasped softly as she took in her mother standing by his side, all done up prettily in a gorgeous blue dress with her hair piled in neat curls on top of her head – so very tiny compared to her husband.

"_So!_" Ian and Devin's bunkmate Tyler said, holding the camera up. "_This is the lovely Michelle Smith_,"

She smiled and waved the camera away.

"_Yes indeedy!_" Ian laughed, then frowned as he scanned the crowds. "_And Dev's just dumped me, I have _no_ idea where he's gone…_" then he spotted him and pointed, the camera swinging round in time to catch Devin running up to them with a dark haired woman behind him, both laughing. "_Speak of the devil!_"

Devin threw himself at Ian, arms around his neck and legs around his chest (not quite able to reach down to his waist) and they started goofing off, screaming like girls did in chick flicks.

"_And you must be Cari!_" Michelle said, stepping forward to shake her hand.

"_Yes! It's wonderful to finally meet you!_"

Both women turned to watch their men, who were still messing around.

"_If only he loved me as much,_" Cari said with a pronounced sigh. Both women burst into giggles, and Tyler guffawed loudly.

The scene changed again, and Ian was jeering at Devin as he floated through the throng of dancers with Cari, sticking his tongue out at him at every opportunity, pulling faces until Cari was doubled over with laughter. And then it skipped forward to the end of the evening where the more modern music, where Ian and Devin were jumping up and down with the rest of the young men in the crowd, shouting out the lyrics by heart and banging their heads in time to the music.

Then it smoothly transitioned to a normal bus with them all sitting on the back seat, Ian on the extreme left and looking towards the window on the right, with Michelle the closest, cooing over the baby in Cari's arms, with Devin leaning against her, passed out completely.

The file cut off, and Ian tapped the screen before cursing. "I think that's it for this one,"

Kevin was staring wide eyed at the screen, apparently in shock.

"So I just do this?" Steph asked dubiously, wiping her fingers across the slab.

"Yes," Ian nodded, but turned his attention away as Gerald approached him with a proposition.

XOXOX

Steph was greatly intrigued, and amused by Kevin's expression; he was still gawking at the little VDU slab in her hands like it was a holy relic.

"You want this?" she held it up to him, and he all but snatched it from her. "All right! Calm down, mate,"

"You've got your dad," he reminded her, not able to work a vicious edge into his words, still in awe at the image of his parents floating across the screen – arm in arm, despite his pulling faces.

"It's remarkable!" Steph teased, poking him. "Such a likeness! Especially _that_ one,"

Kevin dropped the slab and threw himself at her. They both ended up in a heap on the floor, fighting to take the other down until Michelle sent Ian in to diffuse the situation.

"Okay, break it up you two!" he said, shooing them to opposite ends of the trunk. "So Gerald," he turned back to her stepfather. "Yes, I'd be delighted to help out!"

"What's this?" Steph draped herself over his shoulder, listening intently.

"Your father's offering his capable babysitting skills this summer to help look after the twins and Kev."

"Why?" Steph poked him in the temple, earning her a withering look.

"Dylan and Tom wish to spend more time with me," Gerald explained. "So Dylan managed to get us on a adventure holiday in France for a week,"

"And you didn't think to invite _me_?" Steph demanded, indignant in the extreme.

"_You_," he father gave her a very hard poke in the ribs and made her wince, "are going with Max and the Tennyson's over America. Is that not good enough?"

"And Kevin!" Steph said, aghast. How dare he forget her best friend! "You can't forget _Kevin_!" she threw over her shoulder, "Am I right, buddy?"

Kevin didn't say anything.

She bounced over to him and tackled his crouching figure to the floor. "Helloooooo! Anyone home?"

"Look," he said quietly, handing the slab back to her.

Steph frowned, and hit the play button, watching as the dark screen lit up. Then gasped as a tottering baby girl with long blonde and red hair stumbled across it, trying to push a wooden building block into her mouth. It just _had_ to be her, because no sooner had she tried to eat the block, then a dainty looking young girl – still much older than her – scooped her up and deftly removed the block from her hand.

"_That's not very tasty_," the eight-year-old Mel said, taking a gummy sweet from her pocket. "_Have this one_,"

"Oh my _God_!" Steph exclaimed, eyes on stalks as she watched her younger self gamble across the floor towards another baby – perhaps a few months younger – who had his back to the camera. He was playing with something else, but turned his head to find the source of the noise as Steph wandered over, and she gasped again when she recognised those dark eyes.

Both she and Kevin watched in silence as their younger counterparts both dived for the same toy, banging their heads together and sprawling in opposite directions before Kevin sat up, shook his head to clear it, grabbed the offending toy, and ran off screen with it. Steph squawked loudly and tried to run after him, amid her father's recorded laughter before tripping over a well-placed toy train. Naturally, she started crying, as most toddlers do, and the slab was set down so that Ian could pick her up and soothe her.

"_Oh dear_," Devin came into view, pulling a sympathetic face at Ian. "_We all right?_"

"_We had a bit of a tumble_," Ian said, stroking her hair as she continued to bawl her eyes out.

There was a dull thud and another loud squawk before Devin swooped down low and out of sight, returning moments later with Kevin in his arms. He looked dazed, and on the verge of crying, but as though he wasn't sure if he should or not. Devin flung him into the air and caught him expertly, before burying his face in his son's neck and showering him with kisses, making silly baby noises that had him giggling like mad.

"_Why didn't _I_ think of that!_" Ian said dramatically, bouncing Steph in his arms, wincing as she shrieked even louder for a moment.

"_The thing I've learnt,_" Devin said, holding Kevin up high and pivoting on his back leg so that they spun through the air. "_Is that with this one – if I let him think it's really bad that's he's fallen down, he goes ballistic. If I catch him fast enough and make him laugh, he forgets he's hurt himself and focuses on the fun stuff. Just like me!_" they both spun right off the screen, leaving Ian alone and wincing against his daughter's tears.

Mel floated into the frame – just as she floated around today – and held her arms up to their father. Ian deliberated for a moment before passing her over.

Steph shut up instantly.

"_You little…_" Ian laughed, ruffling Mel's hair. "…_So and so_…"

"_Mummy says if you hold her like _this," Mel explained, showing the grip she had on the back of Steph's neck, "_she calms down much quicker_."

"_Sleepy time_," Devin walked from one end of the frame to the other. "_They zonk out so quickly_…" True, Kevin was fast asleep, a fist wrapped around a lock of black hair.

Steph gaped at screen, unable to wrap her mind around the concept.

After all those times she'd teased Ben and said, "Because we actually knew each other in another life!" wrapping her arms around Kevin's neck in a strangle hold – and they'd actually played together as babies!

"I forgot about that one as well," Ian said over her shoulder, startling them both out of their astonishment. "It's amazing what you forget over time, isn't it?"

Steph looked up to see an identical look of pure, blunt, alarm in Kevin's eyes.

"Wow…"

"Jesus titty _effing_ Christ…" Steph muttered, quickly scanning over the rest of the files on the slab. There were a fair few, of their father's messing around during training – replace Ian's hazel brown hair with golden blonde and it could have been _them_ prancing around while someone played a penny whistle, or running back and forth with the rest of the trainees doing the Plumber's version of 'The Beep Test' until they were the only ones left. They simultaneously collapsed just before the final bell toll, in two separate heaps, until someone poked Devin with a stick. The man sprang to his feet and grabbed the offending idiot around the neck and pulled him to the ground, shouting profanities at the top of his voice; Ian lay panting and twitching, unable to raise his head.

Looking up, Steph saw that Kevin had migrated back to the gun, and was nursing it in his arms the same way the virtual Devin had held him. Without a second thought for what her father would say, she ambled over and prodded him in the arm.

"Yeah?" he said distractedly.

"Here," she handed over the slab to him.

"What?" he gave her a wary look.

Steph shrugged. "You're right," she said. "I've got my dad. Take this," she forced it into his hands. They were both on the floor – Steph cross-legged; Kevin sat back on his haunches. He looked up from putting the gun down, and then did something he was not known for.

Kevin hugged Steph, without trying to crush her ribs, punch her into the wall, or cause her _any _sort of grievous bodily harm.

It would have been terrifying had she not known the cause, but she knew it was a response to her own unusual display of feeling, so she hugged him back.

"Get a room!" Ben shouted from the hallway, grinning from ear to ear.

Steph and Kevin sat back, first looking at Ben, and then at each other.

"Shall we?" Kevin said menacingly, cracking his knuckles.

"I thought you'd _never_ ask!" Steph drawled, rolling her head back over her neck, stretching the muscles in preparation for divine retribution.

They launched themselves after Ben, who had about a second to look afraid before he bolted for the front door.

XOXOX

Cari just sighed and hung her head in despair as her son barrelled out the front door, murder in his eyes and followed up by Steph, shouting something in another language in a triumphant tone.

"Really!" Michelle tutted loudly, gathering up the tea mugs. "Those two…I don't know!"

Ian was laughing, grabbing a leather satchel from the ground and walking across the room. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Sorry in advance about the driveway…"

"What are you…?"

There was a resounding crash as Ben succeeded in tripping Kevin up, and the boy landed against the asphalt with a crack. Steph pointed and laughed – and ran away shrieking when Kevin went after her.

"Never mind…" Michelle sighed, shaking her head and leaving the room.

"Cari," Ian said with a flourish, reaching into the satchel. "I have something for you,"

Cari looked up, surprised. What could he possibly have? From what she could remember, he had never been the type to randomly hand out gifts. It wasn't that he was stingy, but that he believed that gift giving was special and should be on the odd occasion.

"Here!" he handed her a package wrapped in brown paper. "I remember Devin asked me to hang onto this and give it to you. It's been sitting in my trunk all this time… It's a good thing my parents didn't get rid of it in the end, I'm only sorry it took so long to get it back to you!"

Devin had scribbled across the top in pencil 'FOR KEVIN'S B-DAY! XXX'

Cari gasped, suddenly realising what it was. "Thank you!" she breathed, hugging Ian. He felt overly warm, but he reciprocated. "Yes, I know what this is…"

"He didn't say anything about it, just that I was the only one he trusted to get it back to Earth. Fifteen years later…" he laughed good naturedly. "Do you know what it is?"

"It's for Kevin's eighteenth,"

"Oh! That's a couple of years from now, isn't it? He's a December baby if I remember correctly…"

Cari tucked it into her handbag as Kevin ran into the room. He raised a hand and began to speak, but Steph snuck up behind him and jumped on his back.

"Argh!" Kevin pitched forward. "You weigh a bloody tonne!"

"Heheheh!" Steph sniggered, then screamed when Ben grabbed her shoulders and jumped onto her own back. "GET IT OFF ME!"

Kevin's legs gave out, and dumped them on the floor in a pile of tangled limbs.

"My spine!"

"Your face…" Ben sniggered.

Steph shouted something inaudible and pounced on him.

Kevin just rolled onto his stomach, face down to the floor and groaned. "My spine…"

The front door slammed and River walked through the door, flanked by her friend Miley. They both smiled and waved, and River pressed her finger to her lips before making a show of sneaking up to Kevin. She stood over him before crouching down low, hands held at the ready and poised over his prone figure.

Kevin leapt out of his skin when she gave him a hard dig in the kidneys.

"Hey!" he grabbed her wrist to stop her from fleeing, and she collapsed sideways, sprawling on the floor and giggling loudly. "I hate you!" he started poking her everywhere he could find, snarling. "So much!"

"Your…face…!" she giggled. "So…worth it!"

XOXOX

**The ending…was crap in my opinion xD but hey, it had to end somewhere… I duno, I think its all getting a bit rushed…might have to review my next game plan xD The Final Battle is coming up next, with a couple of follow up chapters afterwards – however long _that_ takes me :D**

**Again, chocolate blessings on all you lovely reviewers/readers and I'll be back at a (much) later date with a new chapter…(hopefully! xD)**

**As always, reviews are welcomed and rewarded with virtual cookies! :3**

**;)**

**xxx**


	42. The Final Battle part 1

**AN: oh how my imagination fails me xD cribbing from the show obviously because I can't be bothered to think of anything better ;) and of course I own no copy rights, but hey I do own my vast bracelet collection from South Africa! :D and that's enough for me :)**

**I actually have written a bit of part 2 as well, but that needs a little bit of tweaking…along with my coursework, but that'll be done by Thursday and then I'm spending Friday watching the Royal Wedding. Yey! :D after all the horrible doom and gloom in the news, its nice to have something to celebrate – even if its just the one days worth.**

**BUT…May Day bank holiday's looking very attractive too xD I should be able to get more done over this loooooong weekend :D so stay tuned! ;P**

_**The Final Battle: part 1**_

"Last day!" someone shouted down the corridor, and everyone started cheering.

Kevin was fighting his way through the throng of students to get to his locker to clear it out. Some people had bothered to ask where he had been the last two weeks, while others just stared as he walked past. Sally had suddenly become his main correspondent at school, because as it was well known he hung out with Tennyson and that weird Smith girl, and the bizarre Mikey Kid with the skateboard, and that Sally was seeing this weird boy, she automatically knew what was up with Kevin.

In reality, he hadn't seen much of her, and she'd told their art class just what Mikey (apparently) had told her.

He still couldn't work out who started the AIDS rumour… Considering that one of the girls in his physics class had lost her brother to the virus, it seemed in really poor taste.

Kevin pulled all his possessions out of the locker and shoved them into his rucksack before ripping the pieces of paper he had tacked to the walls inside. He left his sheet music lying face up at the bottom of the locker while he dealt with everything else.

"Hey!" someone punched his arm, and he looked up to see Sally standing beside him.

"Hi,"

"You feeling better now?" she said pointedly as he went back to his task.

"Yeah, loads." He added, "Thanks,"

"Can you give this to Mikey for me? I have a dance recital tomorrow morning and I have to leave for it tonight,"

"Sure thing," he stuffed the note into his back pocket without looking. "Good luck,"

"Thanks," she stopped chewing for a moment and blew a bubble of bright blue gum before it popped. "Have a good summer!" she called over her shoulder, letting the tide of students carry her towards the doors.

Kevin made sure to pick up his sheet music once he'd cleared everything else out, and ran for the parking lot with the rest of the stragglers. A group of younger kids was singing, "Schools out for summer!" at the tops of their lungs, and Kevin ignored them, flinging himself at his car and gunning the engine. He drove to Mr Smoothies, to find Ben already there with Steph, bearing blueberry smoothies and identical grins.

"Freedom!" Ben shouted across the lot, and Kevin ran over to them, grinning. "And Gwen still has one more day!"

This wiped the grin from Kevin's face.

"Free food!" Steph threw a box of fish and chips in his face. "And we have a lead," she added as they settled down for an afternoon of laziness.

"Oh really?" Kevin muttered, thinking about how Gwen was still trapped in school for another set of hours…

"Kraab," Ben said, and went to great lengths in explaining what was happening and what they had to do and…

Kevin stopped listening when Steph gave him a one-sentence description and offered to ditch Ben in favour of a trip to the auto-shop.

Alas, for once, Kevin just couldn't be bothered – and a disgruntled Steph stalked off by herself, promising divine retribution.

"Wow," Ben blinked.

"What?" Kevin snapped, shovelling food into his mouth. God, how he hated cafeteria food! This was a godsend – he would have died years ago on the school food…

"Passing up a chance to go to the auto-show?"

"I can't be bothered today," he explained, slumping forward against the tabletop and relishing in the fact that he didn't have to be up at seven am the next day. "I'm just gonna sleep for the next week…then I might think about auto show."

"Well," Ben swilled his drink around thoughtfully. "Grandpa told me to tell you when you were better – which I completely forgot about until just now…"

"Get to the _point_…"

Ben grinned, and Kevin groaned, sliding his hands over his head. "We're going on a road trip!" he crowed. "Over the summer – just like old times!"

"Mmhmm…" yeah, Kevin didn't _want_ to remember the real old times…

"And he wants to know if you wanna come too,"

"And why," Kevin sat up and fixed the younger boy with a glare that didn't make him flinch. Damnit! Gwen had turned him into a complete softy… "Would I want to waste two months of my life in a poxy little RV with _you_?"

Ben gave him a completely innocent look that Kevin didn't trust. "Steph's going too!" he whined. "And Mikey! It was going to be just us – the gang – all off duty and everything!"

"Trouble follows us everywhere," Kevin sighed, wanting to sleep again. "What makes you think a summer on the road will change that? There _is no_ off duty."

"Well…grandpa planned it so that we'd end up in Washington last, and then we can hop on a ferry and go over to see River and Taylor. Their quite happy to have us for a week or so, and-"

Kevin was already sold on the idea.

XOXOX

Taylor stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the best way to paint a nursery. Miley had just lectured River on keeping herself out of trouble, which had been all well and good until she'd fallen asleep on the spot. He was annoyed that she'd run off into chaos and danger without telling him, but he was glad Kevin was all right. Taylor was getting fond of River's charges himself, even though he already knew two of them.

Right now they were off on another mission, having begged and whined at Gwen's parents to let her skip the last day of school to do it. And River was curled up in her small cocoon of blankets and pillows, still fast asleep.

After Lea and Miley had gone off to check out this apartment that Mikey had found for them, Mel had also gone to do some food shopping with her mother. That left Taylor and River alone; he liked spending time with just her after having to share attention with so many other people for so long, but it would have been nicer if she were actually awake…

So he started carving out square blocks of wood and etching letters of the alphabet into them before moving on to toy animals. There wasn't any sandpaper in his toolbox, and he couldn't find any around the house, so he just shrugged it off and set them aside for working on later.

Taylor jumped out of his skin when River yelped in her sleep and awoke with a start. "What!" he dropped everything and landed heavily beside her on the floor.

"Gah…" she put a hand on her forehead and grimaced. "I hate it when that happens…"

"What happened?" he helped her to sit up, and placed his hand over hers on her slowly expanding belly.

"It's like passing out and having a vision while you're still asleep…it gives me terrible headaches…"

"Anything really bad?" he asked, stroking her hair when she leant against his shoulder.

"No…" River frowned. "I…don't know. I can't remember what I saw…"

"Well, it can't have been that dire," he said, reaching over to grab his bag. "Look what I did while you were in the land of nod,"

"Haha," she said sarcastically, but grinned when he showed her the rough pieces he'd made. "Oh my god! That's brilliant,"

"I'll try making a train when we get home," he explained. "I don't have the right tools here. Or paint, for that matter actually…"

"Home," she twirled the rough lion's tail around her finger, weighing the wood in her hands. "There's a novelty," she said meditatively.

"Aren't you happy?" he asked, knowing the answer already.

"Well…we've been trying to get a house for so long, and now that we've actually got legal ownership of this property…it's kinda surreal."

"And we're gonna be parents," he grinned to himself.

"Yeah…" a line creased her forehead, and Taylor frowned in response.

"What?"

"I feel kinda bad…"

"…Why?" he was keeping it low level at the moment, but when she started getting bigger he knew he'd be constantly hyper with happiness.

"Well, after I kicked up that fuss about having a house and a secure job and stuff before having a family…and I went and screwed the whole sequence up…"

"That was _both_ our faults," he reminded her, laughing when he thought back to when she'd told him. He thought, in the infinite moment before she said the word _pregnant_, that she was about to say something like she'd killed someone, or she didn't love him – or a whole host of other ridiculous things that were unfounded and paranoiac.

Seeing her raising her hand to bite her nails, Taylor slapped River's hand. "Hey!"

"Stop doing that!"

"I can't help it!" she sulked. "Junior's making me do weird things…"

"Yes," he rolled his eyes and patted her head condescendingly. "Because she can really tell you what to do,"

"I mean _hormonally_."

"That," he agreed. "Or you're just weird…"

"There is an element of that, yes," she said thoughtfully.

Taylor grinned and kissed her cheek. "Any more thoughts on names?"

"Well…" she drummed her fingers against the back of his hand, still resting on her bump. "I really like Ahmoua…"

"I do too."

"And a middle name…" she said. "I can't make my mind up!"

"What about Hannah?" Taylor suggested.

"My mom's name? I don't know…" River frowned again and tried the sound out on her tongue. "Ahmoua Hannah…no," she said decisively. "It doesn't flow right."

"Okay…" Taylor had an idea, but he wanted to exhaust everything all other ideas first – he wasn't prepared to force anything on her. "Judy? She's been such an important figure to both of us,"

"No…it doesn't feel right. Ahmoua _Judy_…No, definitely not."

Taylor was silent for quite a while before River poked him in the ribs.

"What?"

"You have an idea. I know," she grinned. "I can _feel_ it."

"Well, _yeah_, but…"

"Tell me."

Taylor regarded her warily for a moment before saying, "Barbara?"

The smile that spread itself across her face was comforting. "Great choice,"

He sighed in relief. "What would I do without you?"

"Dunno," River picked up a cube with the first six letters of the alphabet scored into its faces. "I know what _I'd_ do without _you_,"

"Oh really?" he pulled her into his arms and nuzzled her throat.

"Yeah! I'd throw a _party_, and then I'd go out and buy some _new shoes_, and-!" she squeaked as Taylor deftly slid a arm under her legs and bodily lifted her off the tangled mass of blankets, depositing her in his lap.

"Okay!" she giggled as he tickled her without mercy. "Okay! I confess!" he stopped torturing her long enough for her to come clean. "I'd crawl into a hole and cry the rest of my life! Hey! I admitted it! STOP IT!"

"_Never_!" he laughed, flattening her against the floor beside him.

"I'll set-!" she couldn't quite get the threat out. "Lea- Lea- Lyndon's gonna-! Gak-! – _Eat your soul_!"

Someone cleared their throat, and Taylor looked up to see Steph leaning against the lintel of the door, arms folded and eyebrow raised. "Something I should know about?"

"Oh, nothing!" Taylor trilled, lifting the bundle of nerves by his side and stroking her hair like a cat. "Just teasing the mother of my child."

"I don't like the idea of walking in on you-" Steph said accusingly.

"I was just pissing her off!" Taylor snapped irritably. Would he honestly throw her down and take her now – in Mel's _bedroom_ of all places? "You act like I'm a sex fiend or something," he was proud to say that no one had ever walked in on them doing anything more than kissing. Stealth was everything…

"Maybe you are!" Steph shot accusingly, grabbing something from the floor by her bunk bed. "No one's around to keep an eye on you two!"

"Lay off," River said, slowly sitting up and wincing, nursing her ribs. "He was only tickling me, Steph. I don't know about _you,_" she jibbed, eyes narrowed. "But that's not really a big turn on."

Taylor waited until Steph was about to leave the attic before pouncing on River and tickling her again, groaning loudly and inappropriately. "Oh River!"

"GET OFF ME!" she shrieked, still giggling and too weak to push him off.

"Gross!" Steph covered her face with her hands and ran downstairs as they heard Kevin yelling up them to hurry the hell up.

"I…" River panted, fixing him with a glare that only made Taylor grin even more. "Really…_hate_ you…you know…"

He kissed her lips as a reply.

"Why do I put up…with you?" she demanded, loosing her furious glower somewhat.

"Because…" he traced the line of her arm before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. "I love you, and that's always been good enough."

"I suppose," she sighed dramatically, giving him a silly little grin before leaning up to kiss him.

XOXOX

"I'm blind!" Steph screamed, trying to bury herself in the Kevin's shoulder. "It was horrible!"

Ben rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the TV screen in his room; Sumo Slammer's was on!

"I really don't care," Kevin said, pushing Steph away from him. "And… This is the worst show I have _ever_ seen," he directed at Ben.

"Really?" Ben enthused. "It's my favourite!" he looked up from his position – sprawled on his bed, to see Steph's expression, which somewhat resembled a storm cloud.

"Well…" Kevin pondered for a moment before admitting, "I don't watch a lot of television." He was lounging on a chair, tilted at a dangerous angle, which should have tipped him onto the floor before now.

"I can think of better ways to rot my mind," Steph muttered darkly to herself, seated on the floor and picking at her shoelaces.

"This isn't the best one to start with," Ben admitted, tearing himself from the screen to educate Kevin in the ways of the Slammer. "It's not Sumo Slammer's _Classic_. It's Sumo Slammer's _Hero Generation_!"

"Yeah," Kevin shot him down in a monotone. "I don't really care."

"_Star Gate SG-1 _was way better as a science fiction," Steph put in, pulling at the threads of the hem of her top. "And _Fire Fly_! That was my whole life for one measly season…"

"I like _Star Wars_," Kevin turned to her, suddenly much more enthusiastic. "It's way better than the three episodes I saw of _Star Trek_,"

"Meh," Steph frowned to herself. "I don't really like _Star Wars_ anymore. I mean, everyone takes the piss out of it so much that I can't watch the originals anymore without wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. And not in a good way!" she added.

"It's a sequel to the original show," Ben went on, hoping to catch their attention. The united glare confirmed this when they turned on him. "But, they kinda messed it up…"

Steph snorted. "Too right they did! I used to watch this with Kev until they started _Hero Generation_, and then I couldn't look at the Classic's the same way again…"

" Yeah! It's like, five years later, and the bad guy Kenco has teamed up with the hero Ishiama,"

Kevin sunk lower in his seat with a groan, and Steph laughed at him.

"It's not very realistic, is all I'm saying…"

"I prefer _Looney Tunes_," Steph said meditatively, poking Kevin in the shin. "What about you?"

"No watch TV," he said in his droning baritone. "Less time for cars."

Steph rolled her eyes.

"Anyway!" Ben grinned, settling in to watch the next fight scene. "There's only five more of these before they cycle back to the original show. You'll see," the chair scraped against the floor. "It's way better…"

"Yeah…" Kevin slunk over to the door. "I gotta go…"

"Where?" Ben demanded. What could possibly be better right now than male bonding time with Sumo Slammer's on? And where the hell was Steph going?

"I dunno, somewhere…" Kevin muttered to himself.

Steph flung a box of tissues at Ben and scampered after him. "Wait! Take me with you!" she shouted.

"Your loss!" Ben called after them. When there was no reply he grinned to himself before pulling a box out from under his bed, revealing a jumbo pack of potato chips. "More for me!" he grinned to himself, breaking into the packet.

XOXOX

Kevin drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, waiting for the light to go green.

"I'm surrounded by nerds," he stated to Steph, who was still sulking.

"Whatever…" she snarled.

"Oh come off it!" Kevin snapped back, revving the engine as the light turned amber. "I don't care what they were doing! I don't _ever_ want to think about it!" That was just gross! _Eww_… He would always respect and look up to that woman for everything she'd done for him in the short time he'd known her – and he _never_ wanted to think of her unclothed and/or doing stuff with her boyfriend.

It was just wrong on so many levels it was impossible to count them all…

"And why_ surrounded_ by nerds?" Steph spat, glaring at him. "Am I too much of a book worm for you? You ungrateful git!"

He nodded seriously as she ranted at him, not really paying attention and wondering if he could kick her out before he picked up Gwen from Julie's house.

"-And after all those hours I spent helping you rebuild you car, too! Puh!" Steph held her head high and sniffed at the ceiling. "I won't bother next time…"

"You're just way too smart," Kevin told her, thinking of all those grades and Uni degrees she already had and were still working towards. "I feel inferior compared to that."

"So you should do!" Steph said in triumph, but the smirk slid into a scowl when she saw his grin. "What?" she demanded to know.

"Just because I _feel_ something, doesn't make it true," he winked at her, which only served to deepen her scowl.

"And since _when_ have you ever felt that way?" Steph sniffed. "You were moping and moaning about being a monster not that long ago," she said accusingly.

Kevin sighed. "Steph, can I say something to you? And it stays, _just_ between us?"

"Oh god, you're pregnant!" she shrieked.

Kevin gave her a flat look.

"Go on. My lips are sealed," she made a show of zipping them shut and throwing away the key.

"I decided something," he said, taking the corner too sharply but neither of them batted an eyelid at his driving skills. "It was after you all forgave me."

Steph kept her gaze fixed ahead, not saying anything for a moment. "I'm still pretty mad at you," she said, sincerity ringing in her every tone.

"Yeah," Kevin sighed, knowing he had been such an idiot. "I know. I deserve it,"

"But I'm willing to turn a blind eye," Steph said flippantly, flashing him her best grin. "So! Out with it! What did you decide?"

"That I'm okay with this," he tapped his temple, indicating his ID Mask.

"You are?" Steph stared at him blankly. Then, in her best and bluntest tone, "But you were so depressed at first! Why did you change your mind? That's not like you,"

Her last statement made Kevin feel uneasy for a moment. Was he really that easy to read? Or did he just hang round people who were good readers?

"Well," Kevin sniffed, adjusting the rear view mirror. "Gwen said some things that made me realise that she doesn't care that I'm a freak,"

Steph snorted. "_That's_ not why you're a freak. _Trust _me. It's the obsession with the stupid car," she kicked the glove compartment in demonstration.

"Hey!"

"See?" she laughed. "You're so easy to piss off…"

Kevin glared at the road ahead until Steph poked him.

"Anything else, while we're being so open about our feelings?" she said with a mocking smile.

"Do you care?" he shot at her, curious to hear her views on the matter.

Steph regarded him speculatively for a long time before she spoke. "I care only in that I see it makes you unhappy. I would crack more jokes about it and stuff but I know it really upsets you. And there are some lines even _I_ won't cross,"

Kevin was touched by this unexpected admission, from _Steph_ no less.

"Thanks," he said weakly, over whelmed by his best friend's disclosure on the matter.

"Gwen's been so torn up about it," Steph went on, blowing him away again by this more tender and caring side to her personality.

In all honesty, it scared Kevin a little bit.

"Yeah," he said, inwardly lamenting the pain he'd caused her. She just wanted him to be happy…

"I'm sure we'll think of something," Steph said, propping herself up on her elbow, watching dusk fall outside the car. "I mean, we've done all that other crazy stuff before. Something will crop up,"

"You're just saying that to make me feel better about myself," Kevin stated.

Steph gave him a wry smile. "It worked. For a fraction of a second, it _worked_. Don't lie to me!" she pointed at him, both laughing. "I like it better when you're in a good mood. It means I can insult you without feeling bad about it.

"So…if I weren't such a grouch," Kevin said teasingly, very interested in hearing from her, "what would you have said to me?"

"Well," Steph considered. "Not to you _face_. Most of the time…but," he laughed and she grinned in response. "You're like a gargoyle! I mean, seriously, when you scowl like that – its like looking up at Notre Dame! I'm half expecting to see Quasimodo leaping out of the dark corner and ring the bell!"

"Come on! Is that _really_ the best you can do?"

"Well, I _was_ trying to spare your feelings, but if you insist,"

And so she rattled off a whole list of insults – both witty and cutting – that she must have been bottling up for ages. It made Kevin laugh towards the end of her speech at the sheer stupidity of some of the statements.

"And your _hair_…" she threw her hands into the air. "You gonna get a haircut? Because I think a _hack_ saw or a nice _axe _might do the trick,"

Kevin was doubled over with laughter, and he looked up as he wiped a tear from his eye. Before he could come up with a good enough come back, he saw someone walking into the road – straight into his course.

"Hang on!" he shouted at Steph, and braked hard, swerving to avoid hitting the person.

There was a burst of red light from somewhere, and the car crashed into something where the person had been standing. Both airbags deployed, and once the car rocked to a standstill Kevin pulled the broken mask from his face.

"Kevin Levin," a familiar voice drawled, just before he was flung from the wreckage of his car and into another one further down the road. He struggled to extract himself from the shattered windscreen, and looked up to see Diamondhead standing over the wreckage of his car.

"Ben?" he said disbelievingly. He wouldn't intentionally wreck his car like this without provoking.

He shot hundreds of small needle-sharp crystals at Kevin, which dug into his back painfully and made him yelp. "Not Ben!" he said to himself, pulling a few of the shards from his back. Looking around him and thinking quickly, he used the car he'd been thrown into as a shield, pile driving his attacker into a nearby wall.

That was when he realised that Steph hadn't come to his aid.

"_Shit_!"

Kevin ran to his car and wrenched the passenger door open. Steph was still strapped into her seat, hanging upside down with the airbag punctured and dangling limply before her. A river of crimson trickled ominously from her temple, where a nasty cut had been sustained, and didn't seem to stop gushing blood.

"Steph!" he yelled, shaking her hard, trying to rouse a reaction.

She hung lifelessly from her seat.

Kevin grabbed the belt and severed it with his hands before grabbing hold of her and gently pulling her from the car. Steph still didn't respond, and he tried feeling for a pulse. It was strong, which helped him calm down somewhat until he heard the car being torn away from the wall. He stood up just in time to deflect a blow and use his attacker's momentum to throw him onto the floor.

"Albedo," he spat, cracking his knuckles and thinking of Steph, slumped against the asphalt. "You're gonna pay for this!"

In reply, Albedo placed his hands on the ground, and two columns of crystal formed either side of Kevin. He tried to move, but upon looking down he saw his feet were encased in the same substance.

"Uh-oh," he tried to transmute his legs and give them serrated edges to cut through it, but the two columns converged on him faster than he could move. "Crap-!" he managed to get out before they smashed into his skull.

Light blossomed before his eyes, and an echo of the pain from when he was bitten washed over him. His gorge rose in response to the familiar sensation, and he didn't remember hitting the ground before he lost consciousness.

XOXOX

Gwen tried Kevin's phone for the eleventh time, but still no response. Instead, she called Ben to ask after him, but he didn't know either. He promised to let Kevin know he was in the doghouse if he saw him, and hung up. She snapped her phone shut and looked up at Mikey, who was racing Ship up and down the garden.

"Whee!" he whooped, running on all fours, tail swinging wildly in a circle of destruction, right before he ran headlong into a hedge.

"Mikey!" Gwen waved him over.

Mikey pranced over, head held high, shaking the last of the bramble from his tail. "Was_sup_?" he grinned, licking her cheek.

"Still no news," she sighed.

"Want me to walk you home then?" he asked, tail wagging in an endearing sort of way.

"Yeah," she sighed, thinking of all the things she'd say to Kevin after she slapped him. Hard.

"Bye Julie!" Mikey said, pouncing on her playfully, licking her cheek.

It took about ten minutes before they could leave, but when they did Mikey bounced on two legs down the sidewalk, grinning like an idiot. Gwen gave him a shove, which resulted in a wrestling match until Mikey gave in and slumped into someone's garden, groaning about how he couldn't go on.

"Baby," Gwen teased, walking on by herself.

Mikey bounced up and ran after her, grinning as he said, "My arse is nicer than yours!"

Gwen cringed and threw her hands up to shield her face. "I don't want to think about that…"

He laughed, gave her a swift hug, and walked at a sedate pace by her side in silence. With his sudden lack of messing around and vocal abuse, Gwen was able to focus on Kevin's uncommunicative state.

"You okay?" Mikey said, leaning forward to look her in the eye. "You seem…kinda pissed off."

Gwen snarled to herself, glowering ahead of them as the dusk fell and thinking of Kevin standing her up like this. The _nerve_…! After all the stress he'd put her through the last couple of weeks, too!

"Kevin Levin," she muttered darkly to herself as Mikey rolled his eyes dramatically. "You will _rue_ the day that you-!" she stopped mid-step when she saw the wreckage of the car crash before them down the road, surrounded by police cars. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Ooh, nasty!" Mikey pulled a face. "What idiot managed _that_?"

"Kevin…?" Gwen said, squinting in the darkening light to see clearly.

Dark green, leather seats, two black stripes…

It _was_ Kevin's car.

"Kevin!"

"Hey!" Mikey called after her, but she was already running towards the scene, heart pounding in her throat yet again for his safety.

The man who approached her when they drew level to the wreck held up his hands and warded them off. "Stand back kids, this is a crime scene,"

Gwen tried to look around him into the remains the vehicle. "It's my boyfriend's car!" she exclaimed, trying to dodge around him. "Is he…?"

"Shit!" Mikey dived through the ranks and fell to his knees, looking inside. "There's blood all over the place!"

"Exactly," said the officer. "So if you could both just-"

Gwen's heart, just when she thought it couldn't beat any faster, was suddenly doing a hundred miles an hour. She managed to cut her way past and scramble into the driver's seat beside Mikey, looking for clues.

"There's no driver," the officer went on. "Must've walked away…" he eyed the dried blood dubiously. "Quite a while ago, by the looks of things."

"Look," Mikey grabbed Steph's locket – the one shaped like a Phoenix, dangling without its chain of fine gold links. "She must have dropped it," he rummaged around the wreckage, and pulled the dainty chain out from around the twisted remains of the gear stick. "Yikes!" he shoved them both into his pocket, looking very worried.

Gwen saw something else that was far more informative. Reaching forward, she plucked a long barb of a blueish-green crystalline substance, of which many were embedded in the seats and console. She stood up and offered it to Mikey for inspection; he took it from her and eyed it surreptitiously as the officer said, "What did you say your name was?"

"Gwen Tennyson," she said slowly, her mind already fixing on a target to smash. She began running to the end of the street, sending out feelers of energy to catch a whiff of her intended prey.

"Erm," Mikey started pounding after her, shouting, "Mikey Simcox!" over his shoulder.

"Hey, where are you two going?" the man demanded.

Gwen spun on her back heel to face him as Mikey ran level with her, and kept going, quivering, on the brink of phasing. "Err, to check the hospitals!" was all she could think of, running backwards for a few steps before spinning round and running full pelt after Mikey.

They rounded a corner and Mikey plunged onto all fours before sprinting by her side as a wolf down the next block. They stopped briefly for Gwen to try and get a lock on their suspect, but someone came up behind them and started speaking.

"That looks like a piece of Diamondhead, doesn't it?" Albedo mocked, walking into the light of a street lamp.

Mikey jumped in front of Gwen, growling deep in his throat and slinking forward, teeth bared in an aggressive snarl.

"But that's impossible, right?" he raised his hand to activate his watch. "Well so is _this_!"

Gwen thrust Mikey out of the way in time to catch the fireball Swampfire threw at her, throwing it right back in his face. He staggered backwards as Mikey launched himself at him, sinking his fangs into the enemy's neck. Albedo flung Mikey aside, and he hit the tarmac with a terrible crack, rolling onto his side and whining in pain.

"Mikey!" Gwen rushed to help him, but saw Albedo throw something invisible at her – just before the thick vines sprouted through the road and wrapped themselves around her legs and waist. In desperation, she hurled a disc of manna into the air, which came plunging back down in a wide arc and severed her bonds so she could run at Albedo, ire in her eyes and fists as she raised them to strike.

All he did was squirt some sort of gas in her face, but the thick, heavy scent of sweet decay and stale air wrapped itself tightly around her throat and squeezed her windpipe until she could barely breathe. Coughing desperately to stay awake, Gwen felt everything go black, and air rushing past her cheeks as she fell backwards.

The last thing she heard was Mikey's indignant howl before the blackness took her.

XOXOX

Ben closed the door to his room, staring gloomily at the opposite wall.

He'd torn himself from the TV to go say goodbye to Julie before she left for the airport, and just got back from seeing her family off.

Now he had an entire summer to kick about without her…life just seemed crap all of a sudden…

Julie had kissed his cheek, stuffed Ship into her hand luggage and told him she'd call when they'd landed, and promised to send him a postcard, but it wasn't enough to make him feel any better.

Ben fell onto his bed, switching the TV on but not really having much enthusiasm. He was almost falling asleep with depression when the TV switched itself off.

"Huh?" he looked up, and started. "Grandpa?"

"We've got trouble," his grandfather said, looking way too serious to be kidding around. "It's your evil twin,"

Ben tried to digest this all, but the TV flickered back on again before he could make sense of his grandfather's words.

Albedo's face loomed into view, and sneered, "_Greeting's, Ben Tennyson_," with derision. "_Since your grandfather managed to escape me, you must already know that I'm after you._"

Ben clenched his fists, just about ready to pound the screen, but he went on.

"_But did you know, that I have your friends?_" he spun the recorder round so that he could see his teammates. Mikey was held in place on the ground by an elaborate net of some sort, which he was feebly struggling against; Gwen and Kevin were tied to two chairs, facing sideways on to the camera, with Steph in the middle bound to another chair.

Ben's stomach dropped right out of his torso when he saw the dramatic quantity of blood that was plastered to her clothes and head; hanging limply against the ropes that held her in place. He heard his grandfather gasp, and looked up to see the horror on his face.

"Albedo!" Ben shouted, running at the TV as though that would help.

"Easy Ben," Max put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. "He _wants_ you angry."

"Then today's his lucky day!" Ben roared. "I'm coming for you, _Albedo_!" he spat the name out like poison.

"It's just a broadcast," his grandfather said calmly. "He can't hear you."

"_I've sent my coordinates to your omnitrix._" The camera came back to Albedo. "_If you want to see your friends alive again, I'd _hurry." The screen flickered and died.

"It's obviously a trap,"

Ben wasn't listening, formulating a plan in his mind already.

"He knows where you are. He could have attacked you here,"

"Where ever he wants to do it is fine with me," Ben said resolutely.

"Don't be over confident, Ben! We'll call some of the Plumber's kids back to Earth," he turned away, messing up Ben's already carefully laid plans. "Put a plan together!" that was the last bit he heard before Ben bailed out of the window, intent on rescuing his friends.

XOXOX

Steph's head pounded painfully; she felt dizzy and sick, and had no idea where she was. Something behind her pushed against her back and she fell flat on her face in the dirt. She had no idea how she got there, but the part of her brain that was still awake and working registered dimly that Vilgax was nearby, and speaking though the words formed an incoherent, grinding hum in her ears.

It hit her with a jolt when she heard Kevin cry out loudly in pain, and the grating snarled of, "What's it going to be, Tennyson?"

Gwen said something, that sounded vaguely like, "Kevin…!" but Steph's focus on reality was slipping in and out. She couldn't keep that tenuous grip anymore and blacked out completely.

When she felt herself coming round, something hard and warm scraped itself across her cheek, cooing in her ear. Her body thrummed with the familiar sensation of phasing, answering her father's concern with a soft croak, leaning her head around to reply with her own soft coo. She was wedged into a small spot, up against his feathered breast, but in that enclosed space that was darkened by his shadow, she felt so safe.

And then she heard shouting, before the rumble she hadn't even noticed until now stopped unexpectedly, and then she could hear rain before a door slammed.

"Where am I?" she groaned, hiding her beak in her dad's feathers.

His answering coo was soft and soothing, tucking her under his wings gently. "Ssh. You've hurt yourself and it's taking time to heal."

"He ran away!" Gwen's disbelieving voice filtered through the haze in Steph's brain, and she forced herself to turn her head to the source of the noise.

"Who needs him?" Kevin snapped. "We're trying to save the world! That's no job for quitters!"

"He never quit on _you_!" Gwen shouted at him.

Steph managed to conjure the interior of Uncle Max's RV into sight as Mikey jumped up from the table and put his hands on Gwen's shoulders.

"If I said calm down-?" he began, but Gwen turned on him, fist raised and smacked him upside the head.

Mikey spun out of the way in time to avoid the worst of the blow, but muttered, "Okay, forget it…"

"Easy kids," Max manoeuvred himself into the fray, radiating calm and placation. "Let's not turn on each other."

"I'm _not_, I just-!" Gwen stuttered, biting her lip.

Mikey gave her a quick hug, and Kevin stepped forward, eyes cast to the floor and said in a quiet voice, "I'm sorry Gwen,"

"Let Ben have some time, he just needs to be alone for a while."

"Grandpa," she turned to him, sighing heavily. "That's the _last_ thing he needs right now."

Mikey turned away, looking very worried, but his face brightened up suddenly when he saw Steph was awake. He swooped down and flung his arms around her neck. She gasped for air, watching the world spin for a moment before she closed her eyes and heard him say, "Wakey wakey!"

When she could see straight, Kevin was sitting beside her on the floor, looking relieved. "We thought you were a goner," he grinned, patting her on the head. "Following the trend?"

"Piss off," she snarled, hiding her head in her father's wing.

Ian cooed and started preening her crest. "You're stiff with blood," he said, slowly picking the clots from the downy feathers that covered her face.

"Where's Gwen?"

"Gone to find Ben," both boys looked deadpan for a moment, before Mikey grimaced and said something about making tea while Kevin scowled at the opposite wall.

Gwen came back some time later, when Steph was able to move without feeling dizzy and started helping her father clean the blood from her feathers. Kevin jumped to his feet and was at Gwen's side in an instant; she wordlessly wrapped her arms around his neck, and probably kissed his cheek or something but his back was in the way.

Mikey supplied hot beverages, and they sat down to plan. Uncle Max had sent a few messages, and came back with the news, when Gwen asked, about backup. "A week, ten days at the most,"

Steph squawked loudly in protest.

Kevin echoed her sentiment. "We can't wait a week! There might not be any planet left to save!"

Mikey scratched his head, staring out the window. "I could give Lea a call,"

"Forget it!" Kevin snapped at him. "What can _he_ do anyway?"

"Don't worry," Ben stepped into the light, smiling deviously. "I have a plan."

There was a long pause before Steph blurted out, "Where the hell did _you_ spring from?"

He just gave her a smirk, and moved into the middle of the RV.

"Wanna listen?"

"Any plan's better than no plan…" Mikey said, twirling his hand around vaguely.

"I'm doomed either way," Kevin sighed, falling into a seat. "Okay, out with it Ben."

Ben sat down very slowly and deliberately, everyone waiting with baited breath.

"Okay," he laid his hands out on the table, looking them all in the eyes. "Here's what we'll do…"

XOXOX

**I'll make my footnote short because I still have to fix the printer xD as always, you lovely people are so awesome and deserve a real hamper of real cookies but I'm not about to ask you to give me your addresses over the net, so you'll have to stick with virtual cookies! :/ it's a real bummer but still… just know that I love you and I owe you a muffin each! :3**

**Good night, god(s)/divine spirits/deity/thing bless! Or good morning, depending on your time zone… ;)**

**xxx**


	43. The Final Battle part 2

**AN: AAAARRRGH the end of the world is nigh, my last major essay was handed in :D apart from random and normal studying/revision I'm FREE! xD **

**Not really, but I'm not rushing to meet deadlines which is quite nice :) and since a few lessons were cancelled and I had my memory stick, I spent the rest of the day touching this chapter up :D I'm keeping up on all sides which is giving me a warm fuzzy feeling about life xD the rain clouds are going to change that, but I will savour this moment xD**

**Enjoy! :D**

_**The Final Battle part 2**_

River gave Taylor her very best sarcastic look, and he sighed loudly.

"Okay, _fine_. I'll admit it – I was wrong."

"And don't you forget it," she poked him in the ribs.

Miley was frantic, even worse than River in her most terrible moments. Lea had managed to get a message through from Mikey to explain what was happening, and Miley had found out. She was worried sick about her little brother, and while River had butterflies in her stomach for their safety too, she felt decidedly calm about everything.

Taylor commented on this, and she merely shrugged it off.

"I had an odd dream," she began, and laughed when he sagged against the sofa behind him. "I think that everything will be fine."

"You said that about that camping trip," he said sullenly, most probably thinking back to the time he found out that his girlfriend's two bestest buddies in the world were intergalactic werewolves. "Look what happened there!"

"So we nearly got eaten by a bear…" she shrugged it off yet again. "I'm sure the kids can handle this. Trust me and my gut feeling,"

"Your gut feeling's got us into _loads_ of trouble before…"

"And never into any serious harm,"

"Except when you sliced your _back_ open!"

"Here we bloody go…"

They argued about it, for what had to be well over the hundredth time in their relationship. She loved Taylor very much, but this was the one thing that _really_ got on her nerves about him. He just couldn't let it drop! They would have probably ended in a full-blown shouting match after ten minutes if Mel hadn't walked in just as they both jumped to their feet.

"Everything all right?" Mel asked softly, looking from one to the other.

Taylor made a snarling noise and stormed off down stairs, and River glared a hole in the back of his head before falling back onto the couch with a groan. Mel settled in beside her, and waited for her to speak.

They hadn't really spent much time together, what with Mel looking after her siblings and River letting Miley drag her off to go shopping. Even if she was unhappy and pissed off, it was nice to have her friend there with her.

"No, we're just having an argument…" River admitted, suddenly fighting the urge to cry. It was more tears of frustration, but she was still a bit too proud to break down like this. It irked her no end…

"My dad called," Mel said, smoothing her skirt out over her knees.

"Did they find Steph?" River sat up straight, dieing to know.

"Yes. She's having to spend a bit more time healing, but she's just fine. Ben has a new plan, and they're about to put it into action. The others are all right as well,"

"Good," River curled into a ball and crawled under the cushions. She was suddenly so very tired.

Mel got up and moved away from the sofa before coming back with a blanket and draping it around her shoulders. "Get some sleep. I read the tea leaves," she added vaguely. "Looks like we'll all be at the beach next weekend before they go on their grand American Tour."

"So we'll definitely survive this?" River verified.

"Yes."

"Oh good," Junior would still be born in December sometime then…

"Don't worry, everything will sort itself out." Mel said with a smile.

River waited until she had busied herself with her little Wiccan cooking pot and the tiny gas fire before she spoke again. "About that guide thing…"

"Yes?"

"Well…if I were to say that I think maybe I should seriously approach Kevin about it…?"

"I'd say it's your choice."

"And if I asked for advice?"

"If you feel it's right…"

River rolled her eyes at the ceiling and turned her back on Mel, curling up into a tiny ball against the back of the sofa. "I'll give it a great deal of thought." She muttered darkly.

"I think you'd make a Great Spirit guide." Mel said suddenly.

River paused in her shuffling. "You really think so?"

"I think your personality is better matched to teach Kevin than most people. You have a great affinity with teenagers."

"Yeah, wasn't long ago I was _one_ of them…"

"And you are able to relate to most people." Mel went on.

"Yeah, but that's because either I've felt that experience first hand or I know someone else who has, and so on. It's not like I'm anything overly special."

"I know _many_ people who'd disagree." She said simply.

River was inwardly fuming at Mel when the stairs creaked, and not long after someone crept onto the sofa alongside her, smelling of wood shavings and pine needles. Taylor buried his face between her shoulder blades after shrugging her out of her pastel blue shirt, and kissed along the scar that marred her back. She closed her eyes and sighed, completely relaxed again.

"I'm sorry," was all he said.

River inwardly debated whether teasing was on the cards, but decided that it wasn't. "Me too."

"I know you don't blame me…but _I_ do blame me,"

"One thing I _hate_ about you."

"And I hate about you, too."

River wriggled around, trying to manoeuvre herself onto her back so she could see his face. When she finally managed it he bent over and brushed his lips against hers. She smiled up at him, thinking about the house they now legally owned and the land around it.

"Still want to live with me?"

"You ask the most _stupid_ questions, you really do."

"Well…you know Karen and David broke up after _thirteen years_, we've been together for five."

"Yes, but they rarely saw each other for work."

"So do we."

"Well, yeah but… This just feels right." It was weak, but true and she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"And I'm sorry…" his face fell somewhat, and River reached up to cup his cheek with her hand.

"For what? If it's pubes in the soap, I'm kicking you out!"

Taylor laughed for a moment before becoming serious again. "About my dad."

River bit her lip. This was the one subject they had never broached; the taboo subjects a lifetime of working with people dictated that you were very careful or avoided completely politics, religion, and illnesses. They quite happily discussed all of these, even though their views differed, but she never spoke about the way his father treated her.

"And I can see from that look you're not happy," he added.

"No!" River tried to sit up, but he wouldn't let her. "Just that…" oh _shit_…

"It's okay. Lea and I had a long talk last night,"

Oh, Lyndon was now at the top of the list…

"And he wanted me to know how you felt."

"Look, I don't want to cause any-"

"You're not! Ssh," he pressed a finger to her lips. "Hear me out, okay? Right. So, I _have _noticed he's not always civil to you, but he's been like that with every girl I ever brought home. Because you never said anything, I didn't make a fuss about it, but when it kept going on and you still didn't say a word, I thought maybe you either didn't care or didn't want to talk about it."

"Taylor," River groaned, clamping a hand over her temple in a vain attempt to catch her growing headache. "Look, I know I say stuff like I don't care I don't know my biological family – and it's true! My mum and dad _are _mummy and daddy, and I can't think of two better people to bring me up. But I care that _you_ have that, a family you know you belong to. Even if I think differently about my own family, I don't want to take that away from you. I'm going to say a word against your parents,"

Taylor was shaking his head by the end of her speech. "You try so hard, and he's such a prat in return. I'm gona have words with him about it,"

"But-!" he silenced her yet again and she glowered at him.

"Shut up. _You _are family too, and he's the one with a problem. Well…" he gave her a mischievous smile. "You too, since you never _admit_ that there's a problem."

"But you see my point," River added hastily, willing him to understand where she was coming from. "I just…don't want to break that bond, no matter how I may feel about him."

Taylor kissed her nose and said, "And _that's_ why I fell in love with you."

"Oh, you sure it wasn't the killer heels and sexy pout?" she teased.

They both laughed, remembering the one time her housemates had convinced her that she wanted to go clubbing, back when Taylor had been with his last Ex Stacey. She'd practically fallen into his lap trying to walk in those ridiculous shoes…that was also about the same time he'd started openly flirting with her. And when Stacey started getting even more moody and eventually dumped him…

Oh well, her loss was River's exceptionally wonderful gain.

"I liked that little blue dress," he twirled a lock of hair around his finger.

"I don't think I've ever worn a dress that showed off quite _that_ much of my thighs in one go," River frowned at Chris's choice in clothing.

"Nah well," Taylor laughed at her scowl. "I was already hooked at the museum,"

River felt a shock run down her spine and to the ends of her limbs before running back up again to the base of her skull, where a warm sensation spread through her head, leaving a tingling sensation behind.

"That long?" she asked.

It had been about this time of year that she'd first met him, so long ago, and she hadn't met him again until the following October. With all the fuss Stacey had kicked up, it had been nearly a year before he'd managed to break free of her clutches and run after River like he'd told her he really wanted to. Not to say that he was immature (well, he was most of the time but still…) but she thought he'd grown on her _after_ they'd started hanging out together with the rest of the student populous of Victoria.

"I don't even know why I started dating Stacey afterwards," he admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "I just couldn't get that blonde Gappy Student I met out of my head until I saw her again in the fall. And then all I could think about was asking her out…"

River knew the rest; she'd told him she wasn't willing to go out with someone who was already in a relationship, but he knew he couldn't dump Stacey to pursue her without the girl becoming quite vicious. And he just couldn't stop himself from flirting with her! River even remembered doing ridiculous and stupid things in a daze when he was around – neither could help it. So when Stacey announced that she was dumping Taylor, thinking that he'd come round and beg her to keep him, he was on the next flight to Halifax.

A slight abbreviation of their love story, but one you'd probably expect to find in a book and not real life. Yet there it was, all laid out behind them, with a bright future waiting ahead for them.

"Can I just ask," River said as he continued to play with her hair, suddenly aware that Mel had left the room. "What was it about this Gap Year Student that had you so captivated?"

It was been, at first, rather embarrassing. Having lost her wallet, passport _and_ all other ID, she'd just collapsed at the first well-hidden spot she could find and cried her eyes out. Along came a well-meaning local, who'd pulled her to her feet and helped her find her errant belongings and then taken her for an ice cream afterwards. He had laughed and said it was to say sorry for walking into her in the first place.

"It was your eyes," he said quietly, brushing her fringe out of the way for a better look. "They were so blue…I never thought I'd fall in love at first sight, but I kept thinking of you for months until you walked back into my life. I couldn't help it when I started chasing you, I just couldn't think rationally anymore." He smiled and kissed her cheek before snuggling up alongside her, tucking her up against his chest. "You always were the more sensible one…"

"_That_ is entirely open to debate." River grinned.

Taylor kissed her before she could say anything else. "Over ruled,"

"I object!"

"Denied!" Taylor lifted her up in his and arms and dumped her across his chest in a heap. "So if the world is going to be fine tonight, fancy eating out?"

"Chips?" she said hopefully, sitting up straighter in his arms.

"Naturally!" he grinned at her.

They were still kissing when something seared across her forehead and burned its way down to the pit of her stomach. It wasn't the usual, pleasant warmth that came with her lover's touch; it burned acutely in a flash, leaving a smarting feeling behind that made her cry out in pain.

"Are you okay?" Taylor panicked for a moment.

River groaned, trying to stretch her smarting limbs to relieve them of the pain. "Yeah…I don't know where that came from…it _hurts_,"

"But what happened?" he demanded, clearly agitated.

"It felt like…a shift,"

"Shift?"

"Yeah. Like everything in my being just…shifted…"

XOXOX

Ben's plan was easier said than done, and the risks were high, but since no one else could suggest anything better they went along with it.

Kevin was mortally offended on several grounds; firstly, being called a _pet_, and secondly being referred to as a juvenile. River had spoiled them all by referring to them as 'young adults'. It made him feel slightly more grown up and sophisticated about life – and then Vilgax tore that little banner of hope down.

Contrary to Steph's predictions, Vilgax didn't believe Ben about the self-destruct – until it blew him across the room, that is. Kevin pointed and laughed at her gaping jaw, but stopped abruptly.

Pain lashed across his temples, around the inside of his skull, and all the way down to his gut where it blossomed through the rest of his body. His stomach clenched, thinking he was reacting to some left over venom in his system, and not quite able to stifle his moan of pain. There was a terrible high-pitched whistle in his ears, which further served to unsettle his balance, and he felt himself falling backwards onto the hard metal floor beneath him. Kevin pressed his hand against his skull, trying to block the sound out even though he knew it was reverberating from within his skull. Rocking from side to side helped ease the pain, but the moment he stopped it flared again, even worse than before.

"Kevin!" Gwen's hands were on his face, his neck, his shoulders; pulling at his arms and moving him around so that his head was resting in her lap. She stroked his face, and he leant into her hands feeling her skin and wanting the comfort she always brought with her.

"Is he okay?" Steph asked somewhere overhead.

"Give him some air, Stephenie," Ian said, and a swishing noise that made Kevin think that the man had swung his wing out preceded Steph's loud complaint.

"Kevin?" Gwen said gently, running her fingers across his face; cool tendrils spread across where she touched him, relieving his pain somewhat. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," he responded, trying to open his eyes but unable to see straight. He was about to say more, to reassure her that he was absolutely fine – just dizzy – but something inside him sort of…_clicked. _It was like everything in him slide to one side, though he couldn't have told you in which direction. There was a moment of intense agony before everything suddenly felt numb, and then started smarting like his skin had been rubbed raw.

"Kevin?" Gwen said in a small voice, stroking his face worriedly.

He managed to open his eyes and squint upwards to see everyone looking down on him – Max, Ben, along with Mikey's furry muzzle and Steph and Ian's long, curved beaks.

"I have a headache like you wouldn't be-"

Wait…why were they smiling at him like that?

"What?" he asked, lurching forward so he could sit up and see them more clearly.

Gwen leant over his shoulder, a smile spreading her lips and a gentle look in her eyes that made his heart flutter in the most stupid fashion. "You're human again," she said simply.

It didn't sink in at first, but when he raised his hand to touch the spot on his chest where his heart was misbehaving, he found flesh and skin – feeling decidedly raw for some reason. He started, not quite able to believe what his senses were telling him.

"It must have Ben the omnitrix that was keeping you in that form!" Max reckoned, smiling down at him as well. "Once it was _destroyed_…" he tailed off thoughtfully.

Kevin grinned, unable to believe his sudden change in luck. "I'm normal?" he asked, hardly daring to hope lest he jinx himself.

"Let me show you," Gwen said; as he turned to face her she raised her hand to cup his cheek.

Kevin had barely any time to register what was happening, until he felt her lips on his – properly for the first time in too long, and then everything just ceased to matter.

It was like kissing her for the first time again; it threw his body into a dizzy state of bliss, and he was acting on pure instinct. Gwen's tongue traced his bottom lip, and Kevin parted his in response to give her what she wanted. Her barely audible moan of contentment set his nerves ablaze, and he would have pressed her against the floor if it weren't for the fact that her grandfather was watching them. Instead, he made a mental note to take her on a secluded date sometime soon.

But of course, their bubble of pure happiness burst with Ben's scornful words.

"It was a nice little moment…_why'd_ they have to do that?"

Mikey or Steph – he didn't care who – slapped him and he made a noise of complaint while the two adults chuckled.

Gwen took Kevin's lower lip between her teeth, teasing him like he always teased her, before drawing back to address the congregation. He leant himself against her shoulder, in the crook of her neck, grinning like an idiot.

"Victory kiss," she told them, and he could hear the smile in her voice. He just couldn't get over it…he was actually _touching_ her again! He could feel her skin, the warmth of her body against his – so different form how it felt when he had been composed of minerals instead of flesh and blood.

"Premature!" Vilgax shouted, making him jumped. "You haven't yet won!" and he prowled forth with single-minded determination.

"You've lost the Omnitrix!" Ben said, striding forth to meet him. "Your bioids are lawn sculptures. Face it, you're finished!"

"I am _still_ Vilgax!" he shouted at them, and Kevin reached behind him to grab something – _anything_. "Conqueror of ten worlds!" he raised his fist to strike, just as Kevin absorbed the metal upon which he and Gwen sat.

Ben flinched, ready for the strike that Kevin caught deftly with his metal-coated arm, using a technique River had shown him in BC while she'd practised with Gwen. He could see in his mind's eye even now as she explained; _find the weak point, dig your fingers _right_ into the hollow, push with your full body weight, not just your hand…_

Kevin grinned at Ben as he pushed Vilgax's hand out of the way, and said, "Guess who's got his old powers back?" Ben grinned right back at him, and he spun round, smacking his fist into Vilgax's face and making him reel backwards. Kevin landed on his feet and cracked his knuckles, feeling the fresh energy in his body like everything was brand new.

"I won't lose to you children – not again!" Vilgax screamed at them. And then he went on to explain how he had set a collision course with Bellwood, and that shocked Kevin out of his euphoria and back into reality.

The first skirmish was brief, and saw Kevin thrown across the room – straight into Max – and the two of them tumbled into a heap at the other end.

"You okay?" Max asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"One moment," Kevin spun on his back leg, trying to find the floor again. "I'll be fine once everything's stopped spinning…" he was vaguely aware that Ben had managed to get the new weird looking watch off Albedo and onto his wrist, but he didn't pay too much attention as realty hadn't quite settled itself.

Once the world had stilled he leant down and offered his hand to Max, pulling him to his feet.

Ben, as the newly reinstated Swampfire, smashed Vilgax in the face and turned over his shoulder to address Gwen. "You, Mikey and Grandpa get to the control room and turn this ship around! I'm going to need some back up – got my back?"

Kevin pounded his fist into his hand. "We've got each other's," he promised.

"Steph? Ian?"

They all had to take a step to steady themselves as the larger of the Avis beat his wings powerfully and threw his head back in a piercing battle cry, which Steph copied swiftly before charging.

Mikey bounced over the damaged bioid in his way and pelted down the corridor in front of Max to clear it while Gwen ran after them. Kevin just managed to catch her before she went, spinning her in his arms on the spot and kissing her fiercely on the lips.

"Take care of yourself," he told her, kissing her one last time before letting her go and running to Ben's aid.

XOXOX

"Worse than I thought, we're already in re-entry!" Max said, hitting buttons on the control panel.

"Hurry up!" Mikey called to Gwen, who stumbled into the room.

Max quickly set them to handling the manual controls, and pulling back on the levers in the hope that they'd miss the mainland by a few hundred miles. After a few minutes, it became apparent that this was going to be anything but easy.

"We're running out of time!" Gwen said, struggling to keep a hold on her lever.

"Can't we reverse or something?" Mikey was sure there was a way to do that.

"We're going too fast to turn around," Max explained over the blaring red alert. "But we can angle away from the city and ditch in the ocean!"

Mikey lost his grasp completely and the entire ship lurched while he scrambled to get his teeth on the leather grip and pull it up again.

"Where the ocean?" Gwen asked.

"Aim at the blue part!"

"Duh…"

"Not now Mikey!" she shouted at him as the noise levels suddenly rocketed upwards, popping their eardrums.

"Gwen," Max grabbed her lever and pushed her to one side. "There's a box on the wall outside this room on either side of the door. Hit the yellow one and sound an announcement.

"What do I say?"

"Abandon ship. Anyone with any sense will comply, and the guys down there will get the message too."

Mikey let go of the grip in his mouth and ran for the door. The little box on the wall was covered in glass, which he smashed with his padded paw for Gen to use. She grabbed the small com link inside and pressed the button. They both winced as her amplified voice rang out over the ship.

"All hands, we're about to make an emergency landing – abandon ship! Repeat: all hand abandon ship!" She placed the com link back into the wall and looked up at Mikey. "Now what?"

"Let's go see," he said, pushing the door open with his muzzle. No sooner had Gwen reached her grandfather, they hit the ocean with a jolt and the three of them went flying. Mikey managed to catch the sleeve of Gwen's shirt with his teeth to stop her sliding any further away, but he scrabbled to get a hold on the slick metal floor.

Just as they pulled themselves to their feet again Kevin burst into the room, still covered in a layer of metal and shouted, "All ashore who's going ashore!"

Steph bailed through the door, landing with a thud on the floor and phasing in a flash of harsh white light while her father ran after her, still in Avis form. "Gang way!"

"What now?" Mikey turned to Max, who nodded to Gwen. "You gonna bust us out?"

"What about Ben?" she demanded.

The glass panel started to crack under the weight of the water above, and Kevin ran forward, grabbing Steph's wrist and Mikey's ear, tugging them forwards. "He'll be fine! He's got aquatic aliens. We can't breathe under water,"

Gwen waited until they were all in a tight circle, and formed a shield around them. "I don't know if this will hold! You'd better hang on,"

Steph wrapped an arm around Ian's leg and grabbed a fistful of Mikey's fur; Gwen held onto her grandfather's hand and took a hold of the thick ruff around Mikey's throat, while Kevin wrapped both his arms around her waist. She aimed a bolt of manna at the cracking glass and murmured a spell as the water came rushing in.

They were all thrown skywards, travelling way too high even after they'd breached the surface, and on contact with the water Gwen's shield failed and they all fell in. Mikey panicked for a moment, disorientated and not sure which way was up, but his nose found the air and he swam for it, breaking the surface again and gulping at it greedily.

Someone shouted his name, and he spun round in the water to find the source; Gwen had made a platform on which she and Max were sitting, hauling Kevin out of the water – Steph and Ian were no where in sight.

Mikey kicked out at the water and struggled against the waves to reach them, paws unable to find purchase on the glowing energy. Kevin put a hand on top of his head and said, "Phase. I got you,"

He obeyed, and no sooner had he done so then he began to sink under the water, his weight and shape changing dramatically – but a pair of hands were under his arms and pulled him up onto the platform and dumped him to one side where he coughed up a large amount of sea water.

"Cheers, mate…" he wheezed, patting Kevin's arm and slumping against the manna beneath him. "Bloody…hell…" rolling onto his back, he looked up and saw a flash of gold and red followed by another flash of red circling over head.

"We did it!" Kevin punched the air in triumph. "We saved Bellwood!"

"What about Ben?" Gwen crawled to the edge of her platform and Mikey grabbed at her foot, dragging her back. "He's still down there!" she tried to shake him off.

"_Oh_ no you don't!" Mikey snapped, pulling her back flat on her stomach.

"Nothing to worry about," Kevin said confidently, carefully shepherding her away from the edge. "He'll be up as soon as he's finished stomping Vilgax."

"Not that simple," Max put in.

"It never is…!" Mikey whined, rubbing his eyes as the slat water irritated them.

"Vilgax's ship has a fusion drive it could still-"

Mikey looked up and saw the water starting to form a sort of dome with a light approaching the top. "Disaster at two o'clock!" he shouted to get Gwen's attention.

She threw up her arms to make another spherical shield and they were all hurled against its side as the huge wave following the explosion hit them. When they at last came to a dizzying stop Gwen let half the shield down so they sat in a sort of semi-sphere to survey the damage.

"Ben…!" Kevin leant over the edge, staring at the huge mushroom cloud that formed.

"Bloody hell!" Mikey said weakly. "There's no way that…"

Gwen sagged with exertion and defeat, but before Mikey could stand up Kevin had got to her, wrapping his arms around her in support and she hid herself in his shoulder. They all looked up sharply when Steph started calling down to them, and something in a darker red was circling in the sky above. Mikey's heart leapt and he jumped to his feet.

"Ben!"

"_Ben!_" Gwen screamed, nearly jumping out of Kevin's arms and overboard.

"Over here!" Max yelled up to him.

Gwen widened the sphere to accommodate another passenger, and Ben plonked himself down right in the middle, stumbling as he turned back into himself and negotiated the sloping sides of their vessel.

"New watch is gonna take some getting used to…" he muttered to himself, looking up at his grandfather. They both grinned and Ben leant up to hug him.

Mikey was about to make a patronising comment, but Gwen rushed forward and flung her arms around her cousin's shoulders, followed by Kevin who tried to physically weld himself the Gwen's back, arms securely around her waist. Shrugging, Mikey strolled over and grabbed what he could of Ben's chest and gave him a playful squeeze.

There was a dull thud and more white light as Steph stumbled over and wrapped herself around Kevin's shoulders, giving him a very tight squeeze.

"Lungs…" he croaked, trying to shake her off.

They all slowly disentangled themselves from the group hug, and they all looked up at Kevin as one, grinning from ear to ear.

"Ugh…good to see ya, man," Kevin said to Ben, starting off a whole round of congratulations.

"I honestly thought your arse would be the last thing I ever saw of you," Mikey said, grabbing the smaller teen in a bear hug. "I'm so glad I got to see your face again! That sight would give me nightmares for the rest of my _life_!"

Kevin pointed and laughed, and Steph knocked him off his feet, hands gripping him under the arms and holding him high like in _The Lion King_. "Benny!" she shrieked, and lifted him up a bit higher so his arms were draped over her shoulders and hugged him tight. "I thought I'd actually be rid of you for good this time! I'm so glad you're not,"

"Can't…breathe…"

Gwen gently pulled Ben from her clutches. "What happened to Vilgax?"

"I didn't see him get out…but he's survived worse,"

"He _could_ come back," Kevin said dubiously.

"Not if he knows what's good for him!" Steph said, pounding her fists together menacingly.

"If he ever does," Ben said, striking a heroic pose. "It's Hero Time!"

There was a long pause before Steph and Mikey exchanged looks, then turned to Kevin, and all three of them fell over dramatically.

"What?" Ben snapped, glowering at them.

"Cheese fest!" Steph and Mikey shouted out loud and jumped on him.

Everyone burst out laughing, and they could hear Ian joining in from above. Mikey gave Ben a noogie, while Steph poked him continuously in the ribs; he looked up and saw Gwen collapsing into Kevin's arms, giggling and reaching up to kiss his cheek.

"Now come on, kids," Max said half-heartedly.

"I couldn't ever forgive myself if you died!" Steph said cheerfully, though she had a fantastic black eye and a horrible, half healed cut down the side of her face and across her temple. "I wouldn't be able to do _this_ anymore!"

Ben struggled against them both, amid gales of ongoing laughter. Ian nearly fell out of the _sky_,he was shaking so hard when Ben finally managed to muster the strength to make himself heard.

"GET OFF OF ME!"

"Never!" Mikey pounced, phasing as he did so and flattening them all. He didn't realise Gwen had lost control of her shield until they were all pitched straight into the water. He winced and murmured, "Sorry…" in a meek tone, which carried only so far over the water, while the others voiced their complaints

"Oh…"

"_Mikey!_"

"Thanks, _Michael_," Kevin said scathingly.

Mikey pounced as well as the ocean would allow and landed on him, yelling, "Bitch!" and dunking him below the surface.

XOXOX

Cari was doing the dishes, thinking about the package that Ian had given to her, now safely stowed at the back of her underwear drawer where Cain wouldn't find it. She smiled to herself, thinking about how this had never deterred Devin from sneaking through her belongings (it came with the territory of law enforcement); but nevertheless, Kevin wasn't brave enough to even _think_ about trying that trick…

Crystal had been to hockey training with Cain, and they were both in the living room watching the news when their came a knock at the front door.

"Wet hands!" Cari called to him, scrubbing at a stubborn pan. She heard the door open and Cain's astonished gasp, and she prepared to drop what she was doing until she heard someone skid into the kitchen.

"Mom!"

"Kevin! There you are, I was beginning to worried about you. You promised you'd be home for dinner last night,"

"I just got back!" he said enthusiastically.

She looked up and rolled her eyes at his appearance; he was wearing a baggy Hawaiian shirt, and a pair of sandals that were too big for him. "What on _Earth_ are you wearing? I thought that ID Mask could make you appear however you wanted." Why on earth had he chosen that attire, if he potentially could have any outfit he wanted?

"Yeah! It can," he looked wrong footed for a moment before ploughing on. "But that's not the point!"

"Kevin, either appear semi-respectable or take the damn thing off. Lunch is in the oven, you have fifteen minutes."

"But I'm not wearing the mask," he said, and threw something onto the counter.

Cari dived to stop it landing in the sink, and stared at it. It was the ID Mask he'd been using since the accident. She slowly looked up, and saw that he was still standing in the middle of the room, dressed in an overly large shirt and grinning from ear to ear. She dumped the pan in the sink and quickly wiped her hands on her t-shirt before creeping forward, wide-eyed and hand outstretched.

Tentatively, she touched her son's face, and felt warm, soft skin under her hand, and gasped.

"I know, right?" he teased her. "Back to my old beautiful self again!"

And then she was hugging him – or he was hugging her, she didn't know who'd started it, and she was crying.

"You okay?" Kevin held her at arms length, peering down at her in concern.

"I'm just," she sniffed, wiping the tears out of her eyes and smiling up at him. "I can't remember the last time I saw you this happy!"

Kevin laughed, and pulled her back into a hug, only to break away again when Crystal ran in to demand what was going on.

"Why is mom crying?" she asked, gaping at her mother.

"Hey!" Kevin swooped down and scooped her up in his arms and kissed her all over her face. "Miss me, half pint?"

"Hey! Let go! Kevin!" she wriggled around in his grasp. "Why are you wearing such a stupid shirt?"

"Yes, where _did_ that come from?" Cari wanted to know.

"I didn't steal it!" he snapped, and she almost laughed at his outrage. "Max Tennyson leant it to me! He didn't think coming home in a swimsuit was appropriate,"

"Why not? You have been for the last…" Crystal stopped struggling to count the weeks.

"Look!" Kevin took her hand and placed it against his cheek, and her eyes bugged out of her sockets.

"You're normal again?" she asked, wide eyed.

"Yeah!"

"_How_?"

"Well," he said, shifting her into a more comfortable position and dumping her on the counter. "There's this alien warlord called Vilgax!" and he started telling what had to be a watered down version of the story, and Cari smiled as his sister gazed up in awe at what he was telling her. When he'd finished and she'd run back to tell Cain everything Kevin had said, he turned back to his mother and said, "Steph cracked her skull open and had to get rid of the top, Ben's got friction burns and Mikey nearly drowned himself _and_ me. That's it I swear!" before she could interrogate him.

"And Gwen?" she asked pointedly.

"Great," Kevin grinned. "Better than great!"

"And you?" she asked, reaching over to push a lock of hair out of his eyes. It was soft, if a bit caked in dirt, as though he'd fallen on the ground. Which, considering Steph, was most probably the case.

"Fantastic," he said, still grinning.

"I want you to know this," she said, pulling him down into another hug, stroking his hair as his arms wound around her back. "I still loved you when you were…"

"Mutated," he supplied the word.

"Yes. But I'm so happy now," she pulled back and tapped the tip of his nose with her finger. "Because _you're_ happy. Understand?"

"Why is everyone telling me this?" he said, exasperated. "Okay, I get it! Everyone loves me no matter what I look like! Can I have my moment of happiness here? I like being normal!"

"I'm not contesting that!" Cari kissed his cheek despite his protests. "I'm just glad you're happy,"

"Yeah…" he rolled his eyes, his cheeks tainted with pink. "Um…"

"What?"

"I sort of asked Gwen is she wanted to go out this afternoon…"

"At least eat with us,"

"That's the thing. She sort of went home to make a picnic…"

"And who else is going?"

"Err…" he stared at her blankly.

"Fine," she sighed, shooing him from the kitchen. "Go and wash your hair – you're a complete mess!"

Kevin shot her a filthy look, and Cari couldn't resist pulling him in for another hug and planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Okay!" he threw his hands into the air and stalked to the top of the stairs. "I am _so_ over this emotional crap!"

"Language!" Cain called from the living room.

Kevin flicked his wrist in an irritated manner and ran down to the basement, and Cari sighed deeply, gazing into the sink full of dirty water. Some things really didn't change…

XOXOX

**He may be all squishy again after so long as a rock, but we still love him xD at least I do :) yey! I've been waiting forEVER to do this bit! xD roll on the celebrations! :D**

**Next chapter something minorly important will happen, and the we can have a random chapter to finish with because that's how I roll on paper, print AND in real life ;)**

**It's tempting to do a story based on their road trip, but I don't know if I have the patience to do that, because I've got loads of other ideas floating around in my head…unless I did the trip through the medium of flashbacks, banter, and Facebook xD I dunno, let me know what you think! :D**

**All my love to you brilliant people and a Victoria Sponge! ;)**

**xxx**


	44. Melody

**AN: Two words: Royal Wedding. Insert heart here! :D**

**I am terribly British when I say I love the Royal Family xD and even though the rest of the days news was pretty grim, its nice to have something worth celebrating, and its wonderful to see such a happy couple have a happy ending :)**

**That sounded less cheesy in my head xD but I think the biggest face palm of the day was when I got the same text message from about ten people telling me I had to put the kettle on NOW and see if we could cause a power surge :/ …and the really sad thing is England did that once when we won the football xD**

**But anyway, I had finished this after the wedding ended, but I didn't get round to uploading it last night because wedding related stuff just kept happening and it was impolite to bring out the laptop ;)**

**One more chapter after this, and then it will be completified! And then I'll have to find the next title xD**

**Enjoy! :D**

_**Melody**_

"Hey, River?" Kevin threw a screwed up piece of paper at her in a bid to gain her attention.

"Hmm?" she brushed it away, eyes glued to her report, mind miles away and trying to find the right, diplomatic alternative to the word 'arrogant'.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," she said vaguely, flicking through the other report in front of her to see how the higher-ranking members of the Plumber's Psychology Department phrased their words. And judging by the language they used, they must have technical thesauruses for brains!

"Okay," he sniffed. "Can I ask _two_ questions?"

"Just used them up," she couldn't resist winding him up further – it was no surprise when he badly aimed a book at her, both knowing he'd never hit her.

"Bitch,"

"Come on, out with it. The sooner I sort your conundrum, the sooner I can sort mine," she dropped her pen with a flourish and spun in her rickety wooden seat at the table in the workshop, giving Kevin her full and undivided attention.

This probably had something to do about his recent restoral, which she was still trying to wrap her mind around. This whole scenario wasn't the sort of thing they taught you in Interstellar Biology at degree level…

"What's a word that rhymes with obsidian?"

"Huh?" that threw River for a moment.

"Words." Kevin said in short, staccato sentences, "Rhyming. Obsidian. Help!"

"Hmm," she considering, tapping a finger against her cheek. "Ob-_si _-di-an. Dian…" she tried the sounds out on her tongue. "I don't know," she said eventually, smiling at his defeated expression. "I'll consult the oracle," River spun round again in her seat and hollered out of the open doors to the other side of the concrete square. "Oi, Smiley! Get your arse over here now! And _what_," she added to Kevin's laugh. "Was that for?"

"Your accent's funny…" he sniggered, trying to hiding his mirth with his hand over his mouth.

"I think you face is funny, but I'm polite enough not to point it out." River said conversationally.

"Okay, _that's_ a crap come back." he told her.

"Better than 'ya mum' jokes any day…" River muttered darkly, thinking of the Facebook spam her younger brother had been sending her all last night. She was going to kill Dexter when she next went to England…

"What?" Miley wiped the sweat from her forehead, raising the hem of her tank top and fanning air up her stomach, dying in the heat wave. She'd been sorting boxes of medical supplies in the sun where they were still drying out from an impromptu shower at Steph's hand – via her two full water canisters. "You called, oh encumbered one!"

"Err, s'cuse me?" River gestured at her belly. "I'm merely looking fat, not in beached whale mode! I need a dictionary,"

"Word," Miley sat down on the edge of the table, inspecting her dirty nails. "Eww," she complained. "That Andragraphis crap is _sticky_ like hell…"

"Obsidian," River put the word to her.

"What do you need?"

"Kevin wants a rhyming couplet."

It caught her interest when his cheeks reddened, and she noted how it was much easier to tell when he was blushed now.

"I _was_ being sarcastic…" she said in an amused tone. "What's this for, anyway?"

Kevin gave Miley a wary look, but since she was lost in her own little world he decided it was safe to say out loud.

"You know the music I'm working on," he said pointedly. "It's for the lyrics."

"Oh. Cool!" she gave him the thumbs up. "Mile's will think of something, she always does."

"Hadrian?" Miley suggested, staring at the ceiling as though it was a never-ending source o inspiration.

"Huh?" Kevin looked confused. "Isn't he that Roman guy who built a wall or something weird?"

"To keep the marauders out," Miley leered at River.

River responded with a rude hand gesture, blocking Kevin's view with her shoulder. She was at least _trying_ to set a good example. "Keep the bloody Irish out!" Or not, as the case blatantly was…

"I thought it was in Scotland…" Kevin looked crestfallen that he'd been misinformed.

"It is," Miley assured him soothingly. "But there's sufficient evidence to suggest that a lot of Scots moved to Ireland, and a lot of Irish moved to Scotland, in years gone by. So River's just making a _very_ bad jibe at our mother country,"

"But you're English," he protested, grabbing the closest chair and sitting down beside River.

"Lupus, first and foremost." Miley surprised River by telling him this. "Lea and I weren't born in Ireland, but it's where we first lived with our parents. Mikey was born there though, I'm sure he must have told you. Or Steph, come to think of it."

"Steph has a wonderful habit for spilling secrets," River sighed.

Kevin grinned in a way that made her inwardly cringe. "You're part Osmosian," he stated.

"Yup. And Transmorphor. And a couple of other things I can't remember…but mostly human – about two parts compared to one part for everything else. Hence why I have an extra lymph system, because in Osmosians it acts as a pathway for the chemical signalling to allow the absorption of matter – I'm missing the allele that codes for the hormone that allows you to do that, so I can't absorb anything."

Kevin had that look in his eyes; the wide-eyed expression you get when someone young is fascinated by what you're saying. It was endearing in a sort of motherly way, and funny because he'd been threatening her earlier.

"Is that how it works?"

"Yeah. And electrical signalling too, but that's for forms of energy and it involves the nervous system. But you can't have the one ability without the other, so…" she shrugged. "It's good because I have extra immune cells floating around, but that's hampered by the fact that I've never been completely right since I had glandular fever. Kinda of a moot point…"

"But yeah," Miley slapped a hand over River's mouth. "Depending on what you need it for, Hadrian's the only thing I can think of. Is that all right?"

Kevin looked down at the paper in his hands, and River craned over to have a better look. He snatched it away from her, glaring menacingly before shoving it in his pocket and folding his arms sullenly over his chest.

"And yet we _still_ look like a gargoyle," River said dryly, giving Miley one of her looks. "I think we need to call Paris and let Notre Dame know we found their missing monster!" that suddenly reminded her of something, and she rummaged around in her rucksack. She paused only to give Kevin a contemptuous look when he whacked her round the back of the head with her written report – ironically the one she'd been writing about him. "My, aren't we mature today?"

Kevin shrugged. "I'm sixteen."

"I'm River, pleased to meet you," she found the book she was looking for, and flicked through to the right page. "Aha! Not that it means much anymore, but here," she showed him a page that described a Family of extraterrestrial life forms called the _Monsteratae. _"See? Read that bit,"

"'_The Family Monsteratae, found mostly in the further edges of the Andromeda side of the Milkyway, are characterised by their notable six limbs with eight digits, the three sets of canines in each jaw, of which they have four, and the split tail that ends in a distinctive star-shaped fork_.'" Kevin raised an eyebrow at River, and she motioned for him to continue. "'_This group of organisms also have segmented bodies, and can have anywhere from two to twelve sections to their main body, depending on the Genus. They are almost exclusively carnivorous, although two known species have three appendixes in their large intestines that allow them to digest plant matter as well as meat._' Yeah, so I should care about these creeps _because_…?"

"See? _Monsteratae_. Monster,"

"And?"

River cuffed him playfully round the head. "There is such a thing as a monster out there! Which has a specific set of morphological and physiological criteria to meet, none of which _you_ meet." She gave him a hug, which he refrained from returning – most probably because she'd shocked him. "So the next time it all goes horribly wrong, just remember that science says: you are _not_ a monster,"

River hadn't been able to predict his reaction; but he gave her a cheerful grin and a one armed hug. "Can I borrow this?" he asked, flicking through the pages, reading snippets of information as he went.

"Of course! If you ever do Interstellar biology at college or the academy," she tapped the back cover of the little book. "_This_ will be your bible."

"_Taxonomy of the Milkyway_," Kevin read off the front. "Cool!"

"So…where does the obsidian come in?" River asked conversationally.

"Piss off," Kevin said pleasantly, standing up and meandering over to his car. He lowered himself onto the rolling board and buried himself beneath the twisted lump of metal, ending the conversation.

"Thanks, I love me too," River said to the chair he'd been sitting in.

"Ee'stra myi cuunla _samnbatah_…"

"I heard that!" River snapped. "I've worked with delinquents _older_ than me before, young man. Don't think I don't know Null Void slang when I hear it! And don't say such things about my mother!"

Kevin rolled out from under his car, looking very sheepish indeed. "Sorry…it's an old habit…and I didn't think you'd understand it…"

River laughed, letting him know she wasn't angry. "You'd better watch your tongue," she said, turning back to her report. "You never know what these old hands in the Plumbers can understand…"

"Kay…"

When she said nothing more on the matter, he rolled himself back under his car and went back to work. River continued to fret over her little word problem, before she set Kevin's report aside and picked up Steph's instead.

Now _here_ was someone she could professionally bash round the paragraphs without feeling bad about how she phrased it!

XOXOX

"Whee!" Mikey clapped his hands onto Ben's shoulders and jumped up onto his back.

"Gah!" Ben pitched forward, just managing to catch his balance, but unable to save his smoothie. "Mikey!" he attempted a backhanded strike across his face, but Mikey ducked out of the way and took up a half-crouched stance that he typically adopted just before phasing. "What the hell do you want?"

"To say hi!" Mikey bounced into the air, throwing his arms and legs out in a parody of _Fame_. "And tell you that on September first we'll officially be moving into this flat I found!"

"Bully for you," Ben snapped, picking up the empty cup and staring morosely into it. "I miss Julie!" He whined loudly as Mikey patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"I miss Sally as well," Mikey said gravely, not quite able to keep his eyes sincere as he spoke. "But they'll be back in a few weeks!" he added with a grin. "Besides! We're going on a road trip, Ben," he spun round so that her stood before Ben and shook his arms. "Road trip! How bad could that be?"

"Steph," Ben snarled, stalking back to the counter to get another smoothie. "Have you ever spent five weeks with her in a tiny RV and no escape?"

"No," Mikey admitted. "But I've been camping with her three times at music festivals, Herstmonceux twice…" he struggled to remember. "That time in Dorset… Oh, what was the other thing? _Scotland_, I think…near Loch Ness,"

Ben didn't really care by that point, but when Mikey bought himself a smoothie and they went to sit at their favourite bench, he didn't complain.

"So, what are you doing until the big road trip?" Mikey asked, shaking his smoothie to bring up the dregs.

"Uh…sleep, eat…" Ben shrugged. "I hadn't got that far,"

"Bit o'XBox, eat, sleep, bit o'skateboarding…" Mikey shrugged as well. "And I need to pick out curtains, too…"

Ben snorted. "I'm so not helping,"

"Didn't expect you to mate," Mikey laughed, downing half his drink in one go. "Feels kinda surreal, doesn't it? Saved the Earth and all that, and now Vilgax is sleeping with the fishes,"

Ben snorted into his drink.

"The _dead_ ones," Mikey drawled, dramatically rolling his eyes. "Anyway, yeah! Surreal…"

"Meh," Ben sipped his smoothie. "It gets a bit old after the fifth or sixth time you save the whole entire universe…"

"And oh aren't we just so modest about it?" Mikey said sarcastically. "Modesty is _actually _your middle name. Not even joking,"

"It's Kirby, actually," Ben said conversationally.

Mikey choked on his drink. "What?" he spluttered.

"Kirby," Ben gave him a grin. "Cool, isn't it?"

"And I thought _Albert_ was bad enough…" Mikey sobered up. "We have such weird names! Miley's _Hannah Georgia _Simcox, and Lea's full name is Lyndon-Lea _Joseph Brian _Simcox."

"What about you?"

"Huh, me? Nah, just Albert. Thank _God_!"

"Gwen's _Amelia_," Ben said vaguely, toying with the new watch on his wrist. "And Kevin is _Ethan_. Come on, that negates any premise of cool he ever had!"

"Meh," Mikey shrugged. "My cousin's called Ethan," he explained when Ben stared at him. "It's a good name! Better than some of the crappy names I grew up with…"

"Did you know that Steph's-" Ben was trying and failing to get a good reaction at the moment.

"_Felicity_, yeah. Thank God Ian didn't have his own way about naming her! Think how much more bad tempered she'd be with a first name like _that_!"

They both laughed at the thought, and Ben made a mental note to torment her with it later.

"Where is she, anyway?"

"Flying somewhere with Ian. You know, Daddy plus Daddy's Little Girl bonding time." Mikey pulled a face as he said this.

"Doesn't Mel get left out?" Ben had been wondering this from time to time, but never really addressed the concern to Steph's face.

"She can't fly, there's not much in common there," Mikey shrugged. "But they go out for ice cream and shopping. You know, the usual shizz,"

Ben was silent for a bit, before randomly saying, "You seen Kevin around today?"

"No," Mikey snorted with laughter. "He and Gwen are having some _alone_ time. He quite likes not being a rock anymore. And I'm really happy for the guy!" Mikey smiled a smile that spoke of content. "Life is very good again."

Ben rolled his eyes and stared across the parking lot to Kevin's usual space, and grimaced. "A whole summer of Steph and Kevin…I don't think I'll make it up to Canada!"

"You got me!" Mikey snapped, indignant.

"Yeah, but you and _Steph_," Ben sneered. "Are almost as bad!"

"Okay then," Mikey sniffed, slamming his drink cup down, slopping what remained inside over the table. "Then let's make a deal. You watch my back around those two, and I'll watch yours. We'll look out for each other, and in return I will not bitch slap you until September.

Ben eyed his friend dubiously. "Okay, deal."

They shook on it, and Ben smiled tentatively, feeling that he could trust Mikey to be held to his word. The moment was shattered when a bucket of ice and water was emptied over his head, and they both jumped violently at the onslaught.

"STEPHANIE FELICITY SMITH!" Mikey shouted at the top of his lungs, but she was already running towards the road with the offending bucket in her hands, cackling with glee. "YOU ARE SO DEAD TO ME!"

"I got this," Ben growled, spinning the dial and slamming the watch face.

He fell flat on his face as he tried to race after her as Jetray, only to find he was far too tall and covered in feathers.

"You got an Avis in you play list?" Mikey said in surprise, still shivering from the freezing water.

Ben flapped his new wings, staring at them in surprise; they were the same chocolate brown as his hair, but streaked along the wings and down his chest with green. It was unlike any other flying alien he'd changed into to before; everything felt way too out of proportion, and he lumbered forward a few clumsy steps before stopping to regain his balance. How the hell did Steph _do_ this?

"_Looks_ like a Polar Avis, too, with that crest." Mikey added, patting one of his wings thoughtfully. "Cool! You can kick her arse, now!"

"I don't know how to fly this thing!" Ben protested, waving his too-long wings haphazardly. "What do I do?"

No sooner had he asked, then Steph dive bombed out of nowhere and pinned him to the ground in a whirl of red and gold feathers.

"Glomp!" she shrieked with glee.

"I hate my life…" Ben whined, struggling to break free and work out the dimensions of his new body, whose wings felt way too big…

XOXOX

Kevin had had to steel himself for this; he wanted to do this for Gwen, before that beach barbeque that the Tennyson's were organising, before the summer road trip. Today might be the last time he could get Gwen on her own for a long while… And since he'd found the final, missing words that had kept him from doing this before, now was the right time to do it.

Lily smiled when she opened the front door and invited him inside, sending him upstairs when he politely declined the offer of a drink. Frank was nowhere to be seen, so Kevin took it as a good omen.

In her room, Gwen was reading her _Darkfall_ book flat on her stomach on the bed, stroking the little adopted kitten who was stretched out before her, with an almost content expression on its face.

"Hey!" he said with a grin.

Gwen looked up and smiled back. "Hey," she sat up and pulled the cat onto her lap, who mewed sleepily and started purring at a high pitch. "I thought you were fixing your car today?"

Kevin shrugged and flopped down onto the bed beside her. "Got my mom's car. You wanna go somewhere?"

"Sure," he sighed with relief as she said this. "One thing," she lifted the little cat up for inspection and said, "I can't think of a name. Any thoughts?"

Kevin considered for a moment before thinking back to the rest of the conversation he'd had in the workshop; Miley and River had taken Mikey's beloved _Tangled _picked it to pieces, and she'd lamented over something. The name _Flynn_ kept cropping up on Miley's part, and it was this name that leapt out at him in a burst of inspiration.

"Flynn,"

"Flynn…" Gwen smiled. "I like that!" she raised the kitten to her face, and it stretched itself before yawning widely at her. "Hey Flynn, that's your new name!"

"You keeping it?" Kevin asked, poking the cat with his little finger, careful not to squish its tiny ribcage. Flynn mewed pitifully and waved one of his back legs in a vain attempt to get away, while being held aloft.

Gwen nodded. "My parents said yes, as long as I look after it and everything. But they're helping to pay for the chipping and the shots and everything. I was thinking if I could take him with me this summer, but I think he might not survive…" she laughed. "Steph's not the best person in the world with cats."

Kevin grimaced at the thought. "I can imagine…"

"So…where do you want to go?" she asked, tucking the newly named Flynn up in a blanket by her pillow.

"The lake?" he asked, waiting eagerly for her response.

"Sure, just let me find my shoes," she jumped off the bed and opened her wardrobe door. It took nearly five minutes for her to find the exact pair of flip-flops she wanted, and scowled at him as he rolled his eyes. She went to pick up her phone from her desk, and knocked a jewellery box onto the floor. "Crap!" she quickly gathered the bracelets that had spilt all over the floor.

Kevin got up to help her, and they nearly had all of them when he stopped to inspect a copper bangle that had clearly once been painted to look gold. A memory stirred in his mind, conjuring up a street market and a stall with various bits of jewellery…and Gwen.

He ran his finger around the outer edge of the circle of metal; remembering the day she'd bought this, way back before the DNAliens, back when everything had been so different…

"Oh!" Gwen raised her hand and followed his gesture, tracing the contours of the bangle. "I've been looking everywhere for this! I thought I'd lost it," she gently took it from him and slid it over her hand. It sat comfortably on her wrist, and she smiled down at it before raising her gaze to meet his. "Shall we?"

"Yeah," he said, taking her hand and standing up. "Come on,"

Gwen followed as he led the way to the front door, and paused long enough to yell to her mother that she was going out. Lily called back that dinner was at six, and left it at that. Kevin unlocked his mother's bland and beige car and they both got in; he hoped and prayed that she hadn't seen the guitar on the back seat, but she was fiddling with her bangle, and apparently hadn't noticed at all.

Now that he was finally putting his plan into action, Kevin just had to fortify what was left of his nerves before he did his classic technique of chickening out at the last minute. He was all anxious and on edge inside, but he wanted Gwen to hear this far more than he wanted to run away.

XOXOX

Gwen smiled to herself as she drew her fingers across the skin of Kevin's neck – as she had suspected, there was still a series of puncture wounds on his throat where he'd been bitten, that had been sustained underneath the minerals that had once been his body. She'd muttered a quick healing spell over them when her grandfather had picked out that silly shirt for him to borrow, and now they were just faint pink lines against his fair skin.

Steph had run off with Ian, and Ben and Mikey had gone to Mr Smoothies to celebrate. So they had left Kevin and Gwen all on their own, to which neither had complained. She kept running her fingers over his skin, relishing in the soft, supple feel of it, which seemed magnified his scent.

And it wasn't just her, either; Kevin kept sliding his hands up and down her arms, periodically kissing her lips and cheek, or her nose – whatever he could reach from where he was propped up against the tree by the lake's edge. Neither said much, beyond asking the time and if the other was comfortable.

It did feel a little odd, it had to be said, when his collarbone didn't shift to make her more comfortable, but after squirming around in his arms Gwen found a position that was very comfortable indeed, curled up against his side where she could feel his heart beat through his chest.

After a while of just sitting there, drinking in each other's company, Kevin sat up and said, "I'll be right back," and headed for his car.

Gwen waited until he returned with his father's guitar in his hands, and moved so that he could sit down comfortably against the tree, and pulled the instrument into his lap. "I haven't heard you play properly in ages," she said, tracing the sound hole with her finger.

"I have something for you," he said, taking a sheet of paper from his pocket and smoothing it out against his leg before placing it on the ground before him. "I've been working on it for a while…and I want to play it for you."

Gwen felt her heart flutter at his words, not entirely sure what he meant. Kevin quickly checked the tone of the strings by playing each in turn, checking it against the others by pressing on the fifth fret on each one. Satisfied that they were all tuned to perfection, he smoothed the piece of paper out one last time before he started strumming.

There was a soft, lilting introduction, before the pattern shifted and the chord hung in the air, lingering before Kevin parted his lips and started singing.

"_You stand there in front of me,  
__And say I'm worth the trouble,  
__But I couldn't agree less,  
__I rope you into every mess,  
__If you follow me you'll stumble,"_

Kevin struck another set of four chords, letting the final one ring out before he continued.

_"I stood there watching your back,  
__As you walked in and out of my life,  
__The way I behave is just an act,  
__Because it hurts like a knife,  
__Every time I see you cry,  
__Your eyes are like a cloudy sky,"_

Another set of four chords, each ringing out on its on for a full four counts.

_"Is it wrong to say that,  
__With you it's all alright?"_

As he sang these two lines, he strummed very softly, letting the sound die on the air first before he began on the chorus.

_"I don't do these things because I want to,  
__I'm just compelled to follow you,  
__All it takes is one look,  
__You have to know you have me hooked,  
__And I'd do anything for you girl,  
__Cause you know you're my whole world,"_

Then the melody from the first verse modulated; the chords became more decorated and the strumming pattern changed subtly, and Gwen watched the flick of his wrist as Kevin added a base note from the top string before striking each chord on the four thinner strings.

_"You and I are different just like day and night,  
__You're anchored to Antarctica and I'm floating on Arctic ice,  
__I'm the shadow cast by your candle's light,  
__And watching you from afar used to be my vice,  
__Then I found I fit round your little finger like a glove,  
__And that's how I knew that I was in love,"_

There was the merest of pauses before leading on to the next line. These chords were much stronger and more pronounced than before, and so was the following chorus.

_"Is it wrong to say that,  
__With you it's all alright?_

"_I don't do these things because I want to,  
__I'm just compelled to follow you,  
__All it takes is one look,  
__You have to know you have me hooked,  
__And I'd do anything for you girl,  
__Cause you know you're my whole world,"_

With the next verse came another, more subtle shift in the strumming pattern, but the chords remained the same.

_"You're a gemstone in the making,  
__Fine cut and crystal clear,  
__I'm a stony outcropping,  
__Ignore the warnings dear,  
__So they build up a wall like Hadrian,  
__But they know that won't stop me,  
__Emerald beside Obsidian,  
__Cause no one can take that from me,  
_

"_Is it wrong to say that,  
__With you it's all alright?_

_"I don't do these things because I want to,  
__I'm just compelled to follow you,  
__All it takes is one look,  
__You have to know you have me hooked,  
__And I'd do anything for you girl,  
__Cause you know you're my whole world,"_

And here he strummed for more than four bars, but Gwen lost count, so rapt in the movement of his hands across the guitar's strings, and the sound of his voice. Then, his left hand moved further down the neck and started forming different chords – apparently a key change (from what she knew of the little music Mikey had managed to drum into her head) – and again the strumming pattern changed, becoming more full and passionate as his voice shifted with the change in tone.

"_I was afraid of what I'd gain,  
__Because it didn't seem worth the pain,  
__Though all I gave you was strife,  
__You still let me into your life,  
__How long did it take till I realised,  
__With you my life stabilised,  
__And while I chased after you,  
__I was letting you in too,  
__No one else can take that place,  
__Cause behind my eyes I see your face,  
__I know I should but I just can't let go,  
__Cause you make me feel like I'm a hero,"_

Kevin strummed another few bars, his eyes closed as his finger's found the chord shapes by themselves. The pace slowed down, and he let the last chord ring out before he sang again, keeping the next part slow and shy.

_"You and I are like water and oil,  
__But you're the oil over my troubled waters,_

_"I don't do these things because I want to,  
__I'm just compelled to follow you,  
__All it takes is one look,  
__You have to know you have me hooked,  
__And I'd do anything for you girl,  
__Cause you know you're my whole world,"_

A another round of four sedate chords, before he suddenly strummed more vigorously, the key changing yet again, along with the shapes of the chords, making everything around them spring to life.

"_Oh!_

"_I don't do these things because I want to,  
__I'm just compelled to follow you,  
__All it takes is one look,  
__You have to know you have me hooked,  
__And I'd do anything for you girl,  
__Cause you know you're my whole world,"_

Another round of chords, again slowing the pace down to a beautiful cadence of sound that trickled past Gwen's ears into her heart.

_"Yeah…"_

The chords became a single strum in a bar, followed by the final phrase the ended on a chord he hadn't used yet, and it rung out in the air for much longer than any of the others.

_"And you're the oil over my troubled waters."_

When the final chord faded into the sounds of the water and the trees and grass, Kevin opened his eyes and looked deeply into Gwen's eyes. She only realised there were tears on her cheeks when he raised his hand and gently brushed them away.

"That was…" at least her voice sounded passably steady. "Just…oh Kevin, it was beautiful!"

"Thanks," he gave her a weak smirk – weak, because his genuine smile was breaking through.

Gwen took his hands in hers, feeling for his aura, which beat to a rhythm completely independent from his heart and pulse. She just couldn't believe he'd managed to put down in words just how… He admitted that he was useless when it came to words, and yet he'd pinned all that down…

"I love you," he said freely, kissing the corner of her mouth.

She smiled at the sentiment, and grabbed a fistful of hair to drag him down to her for another kiss. It was such a simple thing that lead to what happened next, which later made Gwen seriously reconsider the physical boundaries they had previously had in place in unspoken and mutual agreement. Kevin brushed his lips against hers, and she ran her tongue along his bottom lip. He parted his lips to deepen the kiss, and Gwen slid her tongue into his mouth.

And then they were panting in to each other's mouths, completely breathless.

She pulled at his hair, and she felt his hand on her thigh, bunching his fist in the fabric of the jeans she was wearing. Kevin pulled back slightly and kissed a trail down her throat, where his lips met her collarbone and he lingered, deliberately nipping at the skin there while Gwen did her best to hide her response. She bit her already swollen lip, stifling a moan as she felt his hands toy with the hem of her shirt, his thumb brushing against the skin there.

Kevin's hands were soft now, in a way she had never felt before; he had years of mechanics work under his belt, and he had the calluses to show for it. After Miley had mobbed them to check for injuries and let River forward to survey the damage, she'd given him a bear hug and later explained that maybe his body had lost that hard edge to it because it no longer needed it. "Genetics," she had said, tapping her forehead with a grin, tilting her head forward so she had to look up at them. "And Biology. Although I must say, I don't think I've ever seen a grin sustained for that long and still look sincere," Kevin had hugged her again, and actually kissed her on the cheek which surprised everyone – including River.

Right now, the palms of his hands felt silky against her sides and back, and the leanness to his frame had softened over the week; he was a big softy on the outside as well as the inside now.

Although…this wasn't the gentle sort of reacquaintance she had pictured in her mind. But as she played with his hair and let one small moan escape her throat, Kevin tensed in her arms and cursed under his breath before working his way up to her waiting mouth. She sure as hell wasn't going to complain about the attention he was giving her.

Gwen couldn't work out what it was in the end that tipped them onto the ground, but she found herself sprawled across his chest, lips still pressed firmly together as Kevin tried to sit up, but she wasn't having it; she pushed him back down and again and left her own trail of kissed down his throat, pausing at the hollow just below and deciding that if he could leave his own marks on her, she was at liberty to do the same to him.

Kevin swore, his hands bunching in the material of her shirt this time, his breathing ragged in a completely healthy way. "Gwen," he managed to groan out, his hands slipping under her shirt completely, toying with the skin of her back.

Gwen gasped, despite herself, feeling his body strain beneath her from the contact and her reaction. He'd _never_ made such a bold move like that, and her heart was beating with such irregularity that under any other circumstance she would have thought there was something wrong with her. That said, sometimes she wondered if she was still lovesick for this boy, the way he made her act so irrationally…

"God…" Kevin groaned, tracing a line up her spine, making her shiver.

"What?" she asked against her shuddering breath, leaning over him so that their lips just missed each other. His breath was in her face – warm and inviting.

"You're driving me crazy…" he told her, eyes half closed, gripping her just above her hips to hold her in place. "I keep thinking that I'll get used to being near you, but when you're this close…" his finger ghosted up her spine, even further than before until it hit the clip at the back of her bra.

Gwen gasped, and then the world spun as Kevin tipped her onto her back, and it was her turn to be hovered over. "Kevin…" she said shakily, not able to work the right tone into her voice. He pulled back just enough to be able to see her face properly, and something inside her tightened in a strange but pleasant and terrifying way.

There was love in his gaze, there was no question, and his aura was pulsating with it. But there was something else she hadn't seen in his eyes, not in such close proximity. It was something intense, burning…_primal_, and it came as a shock to Gwen when she realised just what it was.

Lust.

Kevin wanted her, more than just the support she gave him, or the embraces and kisses and the comforting words that their relationship had been comprised of until now. As a man wanted a woman; at least, that's what she could see in his eyes – right before he swooped down to claim her lips again.

Gwen couldn't say no for two reasons; firstly, she couldn't get a word out past his lips and tongue, and secondly, she didn't want this moment to end. As he'd so boldly touched her before, she let her fingers slip underneath the hem of his old t-shirt and she felt the hiss of his breath. Suddenly, Gwen was very aware of their position on the ground, quite apart from the way he was kissing her so forcefully; their hips were aligned against each other, and one of his hands was inside her shirt, laid flat against her stomach.

Her mind almost went into a complete melt down when all the reasons for stopping this before it went too far whirled around her head. In his excitement, Kevin started attacking her neck again, sweeping his free hand up to brush her hair out of the way. As he did this, the knuckles of his right hand brushed against the underside of her breast, making her body move embarrassingly as the shock of his touch did strange things to her.

But she had to put and end to it now, before they did anything they'd regret.

Gwen put a hand against Kevin's shoulder and pushed him away, biting her lip at the hurt expression on his face. "Kevin, listen," she began, but stopped when she saw just how upset he was, rejection evident in his eyes. "I think we should stop this now…before we get too carried away."

"Huh?" he blinked at her, uncomprehendingly.

"You…" was it possible that just maybe he _hadn't_ noticed how steamy things were getting? "Just that…" she bit her lip, very aware of how his eyes flickered towards the movement. "I think that maybe…if we continue…we might end up…"

His eyes widened as he caught her drift. "Oh," was all he said, looking stunned.

Gwen carefully slid herself out from under him and smoothed her rumpled shirt out.

"I'm sorry," Kevin blurted out, and she looked up in surprise. "I didn't think that…it didn't occur that-"

"It's okay," she smiled, stroking his cheek with her thumb. "Just that, we don't have any protection," they both blushed furiously at the thought. "And…I don't think I'm ready for that."

"Me neither."

Gwen was, yet again, surprised.

"Just that…" he cast around for a moment before shrugging. "I forget everything when I'm with you. And…" he raised his own hand to stroke her face, and she closed her eyes, leaning against his hand, feeling his new skin against her cheek. "It just feels all new, like I've never kissed you before. And…" he laughed nervously. "Guess I did get a little carried away." It took him a moment to work up the nerve to speak again. "I'm sorry if I scared you…"

"You didn't," she assured him. "I was just trying to keep my wits before you drove me absolutely crazy,"

"I drive you crazy?" he asked, giving her her favourite smirk.

"Verily," she smiled, kissing his cheek. "But I'm not ready for that."

"I don't think I am, either," he admitted. "Not that I don't want to!" he added, flinging his hands up in defence, eyes wide and honest, making her giggle. "God! You're the most beautiful, sexy girl I've ever met! But that level of commitment…it scares the shit out of me, if I'm honest with you. You're the only thing I've ever been able to commit to fully, and I've _still _managed to screw up half a dozen times. I know _you_ think differently," he told her, taking a lock of her hair and twirling it around his fingers. "But I'm still not sold on the idea. If we were ever to…uh, you know," his face flushed again, even deeper than before. "I'd want everything to be perfect. No screw ups…"

"Well," Gwen reminded him gently. "We're still underage, so I'm not going to push the issue…" but one day she would want that – to make that step with Kevin.

She wanted the boy who had stolen her heart to be her first, and her only lover.

Kevin looked out over the lake, and sighed heavily. "There's so much I want to do with you. You know, the whole happy holidays thing, and birthdays and Christmas and stuff. And maybe when we're older and have jobs or something buy an apartment together…or something.

Gwen liked the sound of that. "Maybe even get married," she said dreamily, noting the sudden terror on his face.

"Ugh…Gwen? Please don't scare me off," he pleaded. "I love you and all, but I'm not ready to talk about wedding bells just yet. I think your dad might kill me first. I'm not bullet proof anymore…"

Gwen giggled, keeping the last item on her list to herself.

One day, when they were settled and hopefully married, she wanted to have his children. She could picture it now; a miniature Kevin running round, causing at least double the havoc he could wreak by himself. Fair skinned and dark haired like him; he'd be the heartthrob of his generation, if his self-esteem could be nurtured in a way that Kevin's hadn't…

Kevin suddenly laughed – a sort of snort that caught her attention.

"What?"

"I was just thinking…suppose we ever have kids?"

Gwen wouldn't admit to him that she had just been daydreaming about having his babies.

"What would they be like?"

"Full of charm," she said, kissing him with a smile. "Just like you!"

"I mean, would they be Osmosian? Or Anodytes? Or just plain human? Our powers are like opposites…what would a kid from that be like?"

Gwen tried to puzzle this out, but soon gave up, preferring to think of how pretty his children would be. "I don't know, but I can predict what they'd look like,"

"You're not going all psychic on my, are you? I already had River telling me she wasn't worried about us cause she knew it would all be okay in the end! Bitch…" he muttered darkly.

"No!" she slapped his hand playfully. "They'd have fair skin, and dark hair, just like you," she traced the shape of his nose with her finger. "And be roguishly charming," she teased.

"And have your eyes," Kevin said firmly.

"Huh?" that threw her for a moment.

"If I had to pick one thing about you physically that I love," he said, his voice low and husky as he leant forward to brush her hair away from her neck where his love bites were peppered across her skin. "It would be your eyes. I love the colour,"

Gwen thought about it, and decided she quite liked the idea. In response, she kissed him again, taking care not to let things get out of hand. Kevin must have been thinking along the same lines, because he kept his hands to himself, except to brush her hair away from her neck so he could cup her face in his hand. They'd stop every so often just to gaze into each other's eyes before one or the other would lean in again.

Eventually, Kevin pulled away and leant round behind him for something. He grabbed a rock and absorbed the matter to coat his right arm before standing up and moving closer to the tree. Gwen watched curiously, and also stood up to get a better view as his hand tapered into a blade like point and he raised it up against the trunk.

He etched 'KEVIN + GWEN' into the bark of the tree, before surrounding it with a stylised heart.

Gwen stood up on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek, and wrapped her arms around his neck when he flung his own around his waist and lifted her off the ground.

"You've given me all this…" she said, tucking herself into his chest, feeling his lungs expand and contract under her arms at a sedate pace, and his heart beat steadily beneath her cheek. "And I haven't got anything to give you,"

Kevin ran a hand from her shoulder, down her arm and to the wrist that wore the bangle. He toyed with it between his fingers for a moment before speaking.

"You've done enough. You didn't give up on me. I owe you everything,"

Gwen smiled against his chest, knowing full well that he had a point, and that there was real scope for abusing him in these moments of openness. She could probably ask him for anything and get away with it…only she had everything she wanted.

"Come on," she said, tugging at his hand and walking towards the car. "Hot dogs. My treat!"

Kevin laughed, and let go of her hand to grab his guitar before taking her hand again and walking to the car.

"I'd better get you home soon," he said looking at the sun, which was slowly bending it's way westwards.

They got into the car, and Kevin gunned the engine, scorning the pitiful noise it made and grumbled about how his own car was infinitely more awesome.

"Kevin?" she put a hand over his on the gear stick, and he immediately turned his attention to her. "Just one thing about that song,"

His eyes widened as though he couldn't believe she'd question his song.

"Where did Hadrian come from? I didn't know you knew so much about Ancient Britain!" she teased.

Kevin's impressive answer was to shrug and back the car out of the clearing. "Nothing else rhymed with obsidian." As if that explained everything.

XOXOX

**Aww :') I wish the Kevin on TV played guitar xD**

**I had to go back and edit the song scene because I was playing for one of the kids I baby-sit and she commented on what it was like to watch me play; you know, the strumming, the chords, the fingering…and I thought 'hey, Gwen wouldn't understand the complexities of guitar playing…' since I'd put a bit too much jargon in there, so I went back and changed it to more or less what the girl had said to me about playing xD**

**I'm still inwardly debating whether or not to the road trip. In all honesty, it's probably because I can't work out if I can be bothered xD I'll see what happens next week and how much work I get dumped with**

**Hugs and virtual cookies to each reviewer! ;) (because I'm not bribing you at all *cough cough!*)**

**xxx**


	45. Epilogue

**AN: aaahhhh that took longer than I thought it would xD I hit writers block two thirds in and then I ended up babysitting and sort of forgot about it momentarily.**

**But I got it done eventually, so I guess better late than never! Although I probably got distracted by all the news over the long weekend o.O after all the palaver with the Royal Wedding, the rest was rather unexpected :S**

**Anyways this is the last chapter for this story :) and I should have the next one up definitely before the end of next week. I just need to think of a more creative name than 'Summer Road Trip' or something equally random xD**

_**Epilogue**_

"Hey!" Mikey jumped up and down in the shallows of the sea, waving his hands in the air right before he threw the ball over his shoulder and ran up the beach.

Kevin glowered at him pissed off that he'd up and leave like that in the middle of their water polo game, but when he turned to see what had caught his attention, he grinned and ran after him.

River grinned and gave them both the thumbs up before Mikey threw himself on her. "I love you too now watch the bump!" she said, prising him off her.

Kevin was about to make a witty comment at her expense, when he stopped and stared at her instead.

It wasn't like he'd ever fantasize about the woman, because…come on; she was more like an older sister than anything else. But still, he'd never conceived the idea of her in a bikini before, and it wasn't that which grabbed his attention. The skin of her torso was _white_, compared to the rest of her body, which Kevin had always thought was very pale anyway. That in itself was weird, but the most glaringly obvious thing were the tattoos he'd never even known she had.

"Miley forced you into it?" Mikey said sympathetically, patting her shoulder.

"Oh, how did you guess?" River said sarcastically, before yelping as said Miley crept up behind her and gave her a squeeze. "Yikes!"

"See? Not so bad, is it?" Miley smirked, and sauntered off to the place where Mikey and Kevin had piled their bags together to dump the cool box in her hands. "That shade of blue looks lovely on you!"

"She will suffer for this," River said cheerfully. "Taylor's getting the barbie out the truck," she added, before noticing Kevin's stare. "Something wrong?"

"Didn't peg you for the sort of person who was into tattoos…" he said, staring at the little stylised wolf on her hip, caught in mid stride and head held high to the moon above it, that was shadowed with a series of three small circles with comet like tails that spiralled outward to the edges of it, almost like a three part yin and yang symbol.

"What?" Mikey tugged at her ear and she gave him a withering look. "She has like a million and one piercings in her ears. Why not tattoos?"

River gave him a playful shove out of the way, and turned to address Kevin's concerns. "I like to keep them in inconspicuous places so I can cover them up easily. I've got another here," she turned so he could see some sort of script on her other hip, _just _above the line of the bikini, and then turned her back to him, "And here," right on the small of her back were she would almost always be covered up was her name, date of birth, blood group, and some medical jargon which Kevin guessed was about her car accident. "This one," she motioned to her back. "Is purely for medical purposes. The wolf…self-explanatory. And that one," she tapped the foreign script, "is Hindi for _Fisherman_. My grandfather's surname was Fisher, and when I was out in India doing relief work I asked one of the people there to write it out in fancy letters for me, and when I got home my oldest brother paid for the tattoo as a birthday and Christmas present. It's a nice little tribute to him," she smiled at the thought.

Kevin was struggling to find the right words when Taylor came over and tapped River on the arm. By the time she'd looked over her shoulder he was already on her other side, sniggering to himself.

"I hate you," she said casually in his general direction.

"I love you!" he called back, jogging to meet up with Miley.

"Oh God, they're up to something…" River cringed. "I'm going to use you as a meat shield," she grabbed Kevin by the shoulders and positioned him between her and Miley's smirk. "No offence," she added as an after thought.

Kevin scowled at River. "The only reason I'm not smacking you cross the face is because it's low to hit a woman, and you're pregnant."

And he thought _Gwen_ had perfected the puppy dog eyes…

"Not because you value me as a friend or mentor and because I always look out for you?"

"Nope," Kevin grinned. "Just the fudge."

"Oh!" River gave him an almighty shove and pretended to stalk off in anger. "It always comes back down to _food_, doesn't it?"

Kevin laughed, and trailed after her as she went to face whatever it was Miley and Taylor were planning. It turned out to be a card game, which she readily sat down to play, and which really irritated Kevin until Steph showed up and threw herself at him.

"KEV!"

"Gah!" he just had time to say before they fell into the sea. The fight that ensued lasted until Gwen and Ben arrived at the scene, to which they both stopped fighting each other long enough to start on Ben.

"Hey!" he jumped in vain to reach the baseball cap Steph had swiped from his head and held aloft. "Give it back, Steph! My friend in Arizona gave me that!

"Whoo! Phoenix?" she said, reading the embroidery. "For me? Why, you shouldn't have!"

"Argh!" Ben tried to tackle her to the ground, and failed miserably because she was so much taller than him.

Actually, when Kevin stopped to think about it, _he_ barely made it to her chin any more, she kept growing so much. He didn't dwell too long on this though, because he was more intent on winding Gwen up. She was wearing a t-shirt over her bikini, with a sarong wrapped around her slim waist, and eyeing him with suspicion.

As he advanced, she took a step back, dumping the bag in her hands and taking up a fighting stance. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Hug!" Kevin rushed forward, knowing she wouldn't hit him, and wrapped his arms around her, still dripping with seawater from being dunked earlier.

"Eww!" Gwen smacked his shoulder so hard it left a mark, and he skulked off to lick his wounded pride.

Yes, apparently. She _would_ hit him.

But he got her back when she wasn't looking by grabbing her round the waist, flinging her over his shoulder, and running head first into the biggest wave he could find while she yelled at him.

XOXOX

"Aww," Miley cooed, watching Gwen and Kevin from afar.

"A_ha_!" Lea shouted, grabbing the fudge from a cool bag.

River slapped his hand and he yelped, dropping the box onto the sand. "You touch you die. Consider your life forfeit!"

"Bitch," he muttered, nursing his wounded hand. "That's gonna bruise…"

Taylor snorted. "Wuss…"

River munched happily on her fudge before wandering off by herself to look at a collection of seashells that Mikey had built up about an hour before the others had arrived. "My fudge," she said rather pleasantly.

"Isn't that sweet?" Miley was in full-blown romantic mode and sighing over the youngsters.

"So's this," River was attacking the fudge with indecent enthusiasm.

"I mean them!" Miley spun her round to face the couple, hurling clumps of seaweed at each other and laughing like idiots. "Isn't it the sweetest thing you've ever seen?"

"I've seen plenty of lovesick people in my time. Two teenagers throwing dead salt water plant matter at each other on a beach isn't all that romantic…" River was focusing on the fire pit Lea and Taylor were trying to build in the sand. It wasn't working out so well…

"It has all the makings of Shakespeare!" Miley was about to start quoting from _The Tempest_ but squeaked instead when River poked her in the ribs.

"No! No no no! You start, and I'll never speak to you again! No Tempest, no!"

"Okay," Miley put hand hands behind her back and sauntered away for a few steps before looking smugly over her shoulder.

River wasn't paying her any attention. "You might want to lay down some rocks or something. You're not gonna cook anything in this sand,"

"Just throw up on our effort why don't you?" Lea sulked, kicking the sand up in a spray.

"Gah! My eyes!" Taylor started rubbing them vigorously. "I'm blind!"

"Don't blind my baby's daddy!" River shrieked at Lea. "I need him to change diapers,"

"Aw, thanks Riv," Taylor scowled at her, still rubbing his eyes. "Nice to know I'm of use to you."

River sniggered. "Why do you think I dated you in the first place?"

Miley chose that moment for her recital.

"Oh, Romeo, _Romeo_, where for art thou, Romeo?" she struck the traditional and dramatic pose that went with that line, and jumped out of the way laughing as River threw the box at her, likewise giggling. Miley phased and bounded up to her, sitting back on her haunches and placing her heavy paws on River's shoulders, licking her face. "Maybe a bit of _The Scottish Play_?"

They recited the Witches Scene perfectly, although they had to add in Mel's lines since she wasn't there yet. It was utterly ridiculous since River was in the most un-witch-like attire, and Miley was an over sized wolf, but they managed to do it all with a straight face right until the end when they fell over laughing.

"Freaks," Lea snorted.

"Girls…" Taylor lamented.

"Glomp!" Miley pounced on the boys and knocked her brother flying.

Lea phased and made a lunge for her throat, but missed. He snarled and sprang after her, chasing her to the other end of the beach and back before Mikey joined in by pouncing on Miley.

"Get her Lea, get her!" he shouted before he was bowled over.

"Get out of it!" he snapped.

"Hey, I helped!" his younger brother whined, biting his ear and pulling hard.

"Lyndon!" Miley roared, trying to get her teeth into his neck. "And you can shut up!" she hurled at River, who was slowly collapsing onto the ground, weak with laughter.

"You look…ridiculous…!"

"I hate you all!" she shrieked loudly.

XOXOX

"Kids…" Gerald shook his head and sighed.

Ian surveyed the disaster area, and nodded in agreement. "No worse than usual. Just that that lot are joining in." Lea and Miley were at it hammer and tongs.

"Blows off steam," Max said, setting up his barbeque alongside the failed fire pit, earning a scathing look from Taylor. "It's good for morale,"

"And fighting technique," Ian added. Friendly punch-ups were unofficially encouraged at Lasia'austra training camp.

The three wolves keeled over in a bundle of flailing limbs and tails, and Ian watched Steph and Kevin slowly try to squeeze the life out of each other. Ben looked rather morose as he wrung the seawater from a baseball cap, and Gwen trudged over to them looking very bored.

"I hate it when they do this…" she muttered darkly, falling into a graceful heap on the sand beside River.

"That's alright, you can come and sit with the mildly rational bunch,"

Taylor coughed loudly and gave River a pointed look.

"That is, of course, excluding _me_…"

He patted her on the head and went back to his fire pit, eyeing Max's metal stand with apparent distaste.

"Are you sure that's going to work?" Ian asked the young man, aware that River and Gwen were giggling over the whole affair.

"Yes it will." Taylor snapped.

"You need rocks," River spun round on the towel she was sitting on. "Let us go get some,"

"No! It's fine, I don't need anything. It'll work, promise!"

"No it won't, stop being so stubborn. Look, Gwen and I will go get some big flat rocks to put at the bottom, and-"

"It's _fine_!" he insisted.

"C'mon," River tapped Gwen on the shoulder and they both stood up. "Let's leave him to his doom. We can cook later when he's given up all hope,"

"Hey!"

Ian and Gerald laughed as the two girls walked away and Taylor fumed at them.

"If at first you don't succeed…"

"Try it your wife's way,"

"And yet they still blame us when things go wrong." Taylor muttered.

"It's the Y chromosome," Ian shook his head with a pronounced sigh. "Gets us every time…"

The other men knew what he meant and laughed, leaving poor Taylor in the dark.

"Some advice…" Max began, but Mikey bounced over without his fur coat and straight into Taylor.

"We can has food?" he asked with a huge grin on his face. "Me'sa _hungry_."

After that, the others slowly returned, battered and bruised and begging for food. Ian inwardly laughed when they all gave Max and his cooking a very wide berth and pitched in to help Taylor's pit come to life. It only took two trips for stones and rocks before they could lay the fire and throw the wrapped fish into it and cover the hole with sand.

"We're in business," Mikey grinned, patting the small mound that betrayed their foods existence.

"You kids sure you don't want some fried octopus omelettes?" Max wheedled.

There was a string of excuses as long as Ian's arm, a few of which had he and Gerald in stitches.

"I just remembered, I'm not supposed to swim before eating," Ben said in a rush.

"Actually, I sort of ate before we left…" Mikey looked sheepish enough to look sincere.

"I'm on a diet." Steph blurted out.

"Piss off!" Kevin punched her in the arm.

"Hey!" Steph grinned and flung her arms around him, pulling him into a death hug.

"Ack-!"

"It's not like being fallen on by an avalanche anymore! I love you, buddy!"

"Get- ick- OFF ME!"

"If I have to put on my grumpy face," River said warningly, making Miley giggle. "And start yelling and screaming like last time, _so_ help me…"

She was interrupted by Mel's arrival, and the whole conversation, including the fight, broke down completely. When the food was ready it got handed out and devoured with great gusto; Ian humoured Max by having some of his omelettes, which weren't all that bad really…until he pulled an octopus beak from between his teeth.

All the other adults were there by that point, and there was a great general milling around, especially when the younger children tried to drag River and Lea into a game with them. After that, the teenagers broke off to start a game of volleyball; Ben, Kevin and Steph versus Mikey, Miley and Gwen. The most girls' team was winning by miles after the first half hour while the other team took turns to shout and blame each other.

"Come a long way, haven't they?" Ian eventually said to Max.

"Sure have." The older man sighed contentedly and sat back in his folding chair. "You must be proud of your girl,"

Ian looked up in time to see his little girl throttling Ben. "It comes and it goes," he admitted. "She has her clear moments of maturity every so often, I'm not going to deny it…"

Max chuckled. "I'm sure a couple of months away from home will help with that."

"Or make it worse," Ian supposed, watching Kevin join in the fight. "I can only imagine the damage those two can cause in confined sleeping quarters," Max laughed, and Ian rolled his eyes. "You sure taking the five of them cross country is a good idea? The Rust Bucket might not survive!"

"I'm sure I can handle it," Max waved the concerns away.

"Good luck," River said as she walked past with Lea and Kev. "When you reach Vancouver Island I'm just going to give them some canoes and throw them in the sea. Problem solved! Less hassle on my part,"

"You are going to eat those words," Lea told her. "Remember the last time I went on the water with Mikey? Concussion," he tapped his temple. "Broken arm," he gestured at his forearm. "Near perforated _lung_,"

"That wasn't anywhere _near_ perforated, you wuss!"

They bickered into the distance while Kev spoke out loudly about the game they were supposed to be playing.

"Nice knowing you, old friend," Ian saluted. Then he paused in his musings of another subtle insult as he saw Kevin's little sister running across the beach. "Hey, is that Cari's girl?"

Max looked up in time to see Kevin leap into the air to hit the ball, and fall over as his sister crashed into him.

"I think it is,"

"Hello, Ian,"

"Cari!" Ian jumped to his feet. "Michelle said you might not make it! And you missed the best octopus omelettes in the universe!"

Only she could truly appreciate the subtle sarcasm of the sentence; it was something he'd learnt from Devin when they'd gone into training together.

"Smells wonderful," she humoured them both, looking at Max's barbeque alongside the now mangled cooking pit. "How are you?"

They launched into a discussion about the children at large, and Ian watched Cain from the corner of his eyes. He looked sort of…edgy, but not in a way that made him feel uncomfortable; it was almost like the man was steeling himself for something. He didn't join in the conversations that were flying around, even though Michelle came over and tried to engage him, so Ian decided to leave him be for the time being.

It wasn't until late on in the afternoon when everyone was getting ready to pack up and leave that Cain stirred from his seat, and Ian was startled out of his silent vigil when Cari said, "What's wrong, Ian?"

"Huh? Oh, err – nothing." He shrugged. "Just that Cain's been exceptionally quiet today." Not like he ever spoke a word normally under such circumstances anyway…

"He'd here because of Crystal," Cari's expression went neutral. "You know about the divorce…?"

"Oh, yeah." That was a slightly touchy subject Ian wanted to avoid. "Didn't mean to bring it up. Just that…he looks wound up about something."

"He wanted to talk to Kevin about something, but he's been out almost all the time since they beat Vilgax."

"Helping Steph out with her Jeep still," Ian sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "And his own car…it's like Devin and that _bloody_ solar surfer of his…"

Cari laughed, probably remembering the damn thing too. "He's so like his father it's almost scary…"

"It was a pleasure serving with him," Ian said gravely, thinking back on the years. His best friend's son was a fine young man, and given time he'd be an even greater Plumber than his father. "Devin would be proud,"

XOXOX

"So…what's this again?" Steph asked for the tenth time.

"The guy I do some work for – _legit_ work," he added to her raised eyebrow with a scowl. "Needs some more hands at the auto shop. Think you could lend me a hand?"

"Yeah, but what would I actually be _doing_?" Steph wanted to know. He was being so terribly vague…God! Just like Ben.

"Ed just needs more employees to help him out. I don't go there often enough anymore to deserve a paycheck. You're always complaining about us being in school and only having Mikey for company, I thought you'd like to get a job instead."

"Let me get this straight," Steph scanned the area to make sure no one else was close by to eavesdrop. "The guy who hooks you up with all those techie deals wants me to fix spare car parts?"

Kevin shrugged. "Pretty much. You interested or not?"

"Let me think about it!" she fumed at him. "Jesus, give me a chance to work it into my schedule! I still have to study for that biology degree too, ya know."

"We can't all have brains the size of planets," Kevin snickered.

Steph smacked him upside the head. "You know, I really missed doing that," she inspected her unharmed knuckles. "Having you all soft and squishy again is great!"

Kevin suddenly went very quiet, and Steph halted in her tracks, realising she'd probably put her foot in it…although, after their little heart to heart she would have thought that he would understand everyone still loved him.

"Erm…" she bit her lip.

"Do you prefer me being this way?" Kevin said in a rush.

Steph took a while to answer so that she could chose her words carefully and not sound too bitchy about it.

"I do in the sense that…you're happier this way, and I like it when you're happy because I don't like seeing you all tormented inside and stuff."

"So…it's just my happiness?" he wanted clarification.

"Oh, get over it!" Steph grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him violently. When would he see the _frickin'_ light? "We love you whether you're powerless, weird and all hybrid-like thing or a goddamn gargoyle! Get that through that thick skull of yours already or I'll pound it in myself – _with a sledge hammer_!"

Kevin broke free of her hold and slapped her across the face. "I get it, shut up already!"

"No! I will _not_ shut up, not until you admit you were wrong and a prick for not believing us from the start, you-!"

Someone cleared their throat loudly, and they both stopped in their tussle to turn round and see who it was.

They were standing apart from the rest of the beach going party, with the tide edging its way further and further up the shore. And situated about ten feet from their position, away from the approaching water line, was Cain.

Slowly, Steph let go of Kevin and stood up to her full and considerable height, not trying to hide the flicker of annoyance this man brought with him. He looked uncomfortable under her gaze, but he was focused on Kevin, who had gone very still and neutral all of a sudden.

"I'd like to have a word with you, Kevin." Cain said in measured tones, watching his face intently. "If that's all right."

Kevin stared at him for a moment longer before turning to Steph.

She pulled a face at him, and he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly in a frown. Steph twitched the muscles in her right cheek and let her eyes flicker towards his stepfather and back in a split second. Not that anyone else ever noticed, but they had become quite good at having silent conversations – it was how they ambushed Ben so effectively.

"I'll be by the barbeque," Steph said, punching Kevin's arm lightly and giving him a meaningful look. She walked away from them back to where Ben and Mikey were helping Max pack the stupid cooking equipment away, and ran into Gwen; she'd been reading her book and was about to set off in the direction Steph had just come from, but saw Cain standing by Kevin.

"Is everything okay?" she asked apprehensively.

Steph waved the thought away vaguely. "What's the worst that could happen? And besides, Kevin's got more self-control than that. Give the guy _some_ credit! I'm the only one he needs little to know provocation to punch. Cain will live,"

Gwen still looked dubious, but helped Steph to clear as much of the fire pit as possible. By that point the sun was on its downward slant towards the horizon over the ocean. Steph considered as they walked around aimlessly in search of a trash can, that Vilgax's ship, and most probably Vilgax himself, was still out there. _Eww_…and she'd been swimming in the same water…

"Hey!"

Steph jumped about a mile high when Kevin snuck up behind her and gave her a sharp dig in the ribs. "YIKES!"

"Heheheh!"

"Get your butt back here!" she roared, slamming him into the sand with her fist. "What the hell was that for!"

"Dunno," he shrugged.

"What did Cain want?" Gwen interrupted, shoving Steph out of the way and helping Kevin to his feet – making Steph sulk.

"Just that," he brushed the sand from his skin and shook the rest out of his hair. "He's choosing to leave for Crystal's sake because he thinks she'll do better without him around causing so much," he paused to raise his hand so that the quotation marks were far more prominent, "'_discord_' in the family. He thinks that she and my mom will be happier that way, and he just wants me to know that – no hard feelings."

Steph blinked.

_Cain_ had said all this? Off his own back without being primed by Cari?

"Jesus," she said softly. "When did he become so reasonable?"

Kevin shrugged again as Gwen gave him a hug.

"What did _you_ say, then?" Steph asked, grabbing her rubbish bag and setting off again on her quest for a litterbin.

"Thanks. And then I walked off."

"_Very_ mature," Gwen muttered.

"What do you _want_ me to say?"

"He didn't have to go and do that! And you just throw it back in his face?" Gwen demanded, ire in her eyes.

Kevin was about to lash out verbally against this onslaught when Steph decided to do the grown up thing and butt in. "Yeah, but Gwen? This _is_ Kevin Levin we are talking about. The fact that he didn't start hurling random insults or something is pretty impressive. And the guy's given him more than enough reason for it over the years. Don't you think?"

Gwen glared at Steph before grabbing the trash from her and stalking off to find a bin herself.

"Aww, Steph!" Kevin punched her in the gut. "I didn't know you actually cared about me!"

She blinked. "I don't," she said, nonplussed. "It's just the way the world works."

Kevin was still beaming when River appeared out of nowhere, draped in Miley's borrowed sarong and Taylor's oversized t-shirt. She put her arms around her shoulders and gave him a loving squeeze.

"I'm _so_ proud of you right now," she said with the biggest grin Steph had ever seen her wear, and then walked off again like nothing had happened.

"Tee hee!" Steph giggled at Kevin, making him flush with embarrassment and snarl at her. "Aww, I think Gwen should watch out. She'll have competition,"

"Argh!" Kevin lunged for her, but she jumped out of the way and phased on the spot.

Once Steph was in the air, he had no chance of catching her; she caught the updraft and soared into the sky before circling over the encroaching tide. There was a green flash from below, and she spun round to investigate. Ben had apparently tried to copy her move and thrown himself into the air – as Rath. The feline Hulk fell flat on his face before shaking the sand from his fur and yelling at the sky, "_Let me tell you something Ultamatrix-!_"

Steph was laughing to herself at the back of her throat, and settling in for a nice long haul of not helping the clear up operation and pissing Kevin off, when there was a sharp, piercing cry from above that was her only warning.

Another Avis crashed into her from a plummeting dive and sent her in a downward spiral towards the sea, screaming at her father in outrage. He was supposed to be her flying teacher! Not her nemesis of the sky – stupid man! That idiot had no concept of parenthood.

They dived into the water with a loud splash, and Steph managed to break free of his hold long enough to get to the surface for air, and balance herself precariously on the ocean's slopping plane. It wasn't at all comfortable, since Phoenix weren't designed for the sea; that was the Polar Avis. But her dad broke the surface as well nearby, and swanned over with a playful glint in his eye as he rode the waves far more expertly than her.

"Git," she snapped her beak in his face. "I wish you'd just piss off already so I don't have to look at you…"

Ian chuckled, and swam a bit closer so he could start preening her ruffled feathers. She puffed her chest out indignantly, trying to make herself look bigger and fiercer, but they both knew it wouldn't work. Still, she didn't really give in entirely, preferring to lead him into thinking that she didn't want his presence there.

"So you still want to go to Re'ath to see your feathered cousins?" he asked eventually.

"Sure, I'll give it some more thought," Steph said, still unsteady on the water's surface. When something from below tangled itself around her leg, making her scream and think a great white shark was trying to eat her.

Swampfire surfaced and made a mad dash for the beach, cackling with glee.

Steph flapped her sodden wings and chased after him; once she hit the beach she ran at him, bellowing at the top of her extended lungs and giving the best battle cry she could muster.

"I'll destroy you if it's the last thing I do!"

Amid the gales of laughter that followed them down the beach in their dance of death, Kevin and Gwen stood either side of wolf Mikey, who was licking his paw in a cat-like manner.

"Some things just never change…" Gwen said despairingly, hand on her forehead.

"Woot," Kevin said, yawning and bored by the proceedings.

"This will be an interesting summer," Mikey said, tail thumping against the sand to a happy beat.

Steph managed to pin Ben down long enough to peck at his eyes before he timed out, and dumped them on the sand.

"I'm gonna eat your intestines for breakfast every day of this road trip. Or _so_ help me…!" she snarled.

"Eww!" Ben pulled a face. "You know, your breath _actually_ smells like mouldy birdseed,"

He screamed when she actually nicked his shoulder with her beak.

"You're such a girl…" Kevin pointed and laughed.

Steph phased back and slapped Ben round the back of the head while the others walked over to them.

"Still," Mikey said, quickly licking the weeping wound to seal it. "We do make an awesome team.

"Maybe we should have a catch phrase?" Ben said, eyes suddenly wide with that childlike spark that made Steph groan in defeat. "Oooh, oooh! Or maybe even a theme song!"

Steph looked from Kevin, to Mikey, to Gwen, and back to Ben.

"No," she and Kevin said flatly.

"Come on, Ben!" Mikey said, dropping onto his knees before straightening up as a human again. "We're not the bloody _Power Rangers_,"

"Hang on…" Ben frowned in concentration. "How about…?" he started humming a tune, and Steph stalked off into the gathering twilight with Kevin, bitching about Ben.

"Can you _believe_ that douche bag?"

"And I _didn't_ finish him off when I had the chance. What was I thinking?"

"Why didn't you?" she demanded, slapping him randomly, not even knowing where she hit him. "You'd've saved us a lot of grief by now!"

"Hey, listen," Kevin stopped her in her tracks, and they tuned in to Ben's warbling.

"…Fighting off evil from Earth or space!"

"What the…" Steph went on one of her long swearing tangents as he continued with, "He'll never stop till he makes them pay. Cause he's the baddest kid to ever- argh!"

Mikey bounded past on all fours, tail spinning out of control and bowling Ben over. He jumped into a pose and threw his head back to howl at the sky, adding to the cacophony of terrible noise.

Steph and Kevin had to cling to each other to remain upright, and then they both pushed each other to the ground as Mikey tore up the beach, barking with laughter and with Ben hot on his heels. They all ran from each other, not even remembering who had started it by the time they had to leave, laughing at the inanity of it all.

Just before Kevin went to his borrowed car, Steph caught up to him and gave him a bone-crushing hug. She held him out at arms length, grinning at his sarcastic glare.

"I wouldn't swap any of this for the _world_," she told him honestly, thinking of how dull life had been before her family had moved to Bellwood.

"I'm just that awesome." Kevin smirked.

"Steph mimicked his expression and walked away casually, waving her hand in the air. "You juts keep telling yourself that, dude."

"Heehee," Kevin said to himself, getting into his car. "Accent."

By the time Steph had spun round to give him a piece of her mind, Kevin had already driven off.

"Next time," she shouted at his retreating back menacingly. "Next time! Your blood is _mine_!"

XOXOX

It went a little too random at the end, but that's what Steph does best xD

**Thank you to everyone who's read/reviewed/enjoyed this story, you guys are absolutely amazing and I'd give you each a real hug if it wouldn't make me look like a stalker! ;) so have a virtual one instead**

**Thanks again to you all for your support, I wouldn't have got so far or kept to this project for so long without you! :D**

**xxx**


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